Over My Head
by st.elmo-lover
Summary: Sequel to Send the Pain Below. Take a good look at my back, because you won't see it again...
1. Val Fields

**_Author's Note:_**

_**Ok, so I was reading over my story because I was going to update and then I realized how many spelling mistakes and grammer errors I had so I decided to start all over. So here it is...and I changed the title by the way. I hope you guys like it...I'll update as soon as possible:D**_

**_Disclaimer- I do not own the title of this story or the outsiders characters. I got the title from a song by The Fray. So all credit goes to them and S.E Hinton_**

Maggie sat on the train, the cars bumping and thrasing around. She leaned her head against the cold window, her head filling with thoughts of the gang. She couldn't get them out of her head and she still couldn't believe she was actually leaving them all behind. She had switched trains 3 times and was now on the train that would take her directly to Brooklyn. She figured that that would be the place to go since Dallas had lived there. She knew it was going to be tough but she was up for the challenge.

"Next stop, Brooklyn." a man said at the front of the train as he balanced himself between 2 chairs. Maggie sighed heavily and whipped her eyes. They were stinging and dry from all the tears she had cried.

She clutched her bag as she looked at the other passengers. There was an old lady sitting across from her in a chair and a young man beside her around the age of 19. She took a deep breath as they neared the city, her heart beating wild and hard against her chest and lungs. This was it, the new place she would be starting her life. This was the place that she would live the rest of her life at most likely. And it scared her.

"Are you ok, honey?" the old lady asked worriedly. Maggie nodded slowly and tucked a loose hair out of her face. Her hair was greasy and dirty. She hadn't' showered in 5 days and she knew she must stink. She hadn't had any money to buy a hotel room when she was waiting for a different train, so she had to sleep on the street. She was used to it by now, but the only thought that passed through her mind was how bad it was going to be when she got to Brooklyn. She knew it would be dirty and there would be drunks all over the place, and that would make her life even harder, but she still didn't know what to expect.

She moved passed the old lady and out into the isle where she waited for the train to come to a complete stop. When it did she shuffled off the bus, her bag clutched in her hand. She looked around the train station. It was like a normal train station plus the graffiti and the smell of piss. She fought the urge to gag and walked towards the end of the train station.

"Hey, kid!" she heard a yell. She turned her head quickly to see a tall muscular guy around 18 standing next to a yellow taxi. She walked a few steps closer to him before stopping. "Need a ride?" he asked, a weed dangling from his mouth as he motioned to the taxi. "I can take to your grandma's house." he added, and chuckled coldly.

Maggie sneered at him before answering, "I'm not a kid I'm 15 and I don't have a grandma. And no, I don't have any money to pay for a taxi." she said angrily as she whipped at her eyes again. The guy looked at her, giving her the once over. Maggie decided after a few seconds to finally do the same. He was tall with shaggy light brown hair. He didn't put any grease in it like the guys in Tulsa. He just left it alone. He had muscles, not as much as Darry but they were definately there. Her eyes stung at the thought of Darry and she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts. The guy's legs were crossed at the ankles and he was leaning on the taxi. His eyes were a cold dark brown color...as cold as Dally's.

"God dammit!" she whispered to herself as she shook her head vigorously. Everything seemed to remind her of Dallas and the gang now. And she didn't know how to get rid of it.

She heard the guy grunt and looked up at him. He had a weird look on his face like she was crazy. "You crazy or somethin'?" he asked finally. Maggie shook her head.

"Just tired." she snapped back. She wasn't in the mood to bother. She still had to scope out most of Brooklyn to find out where she was going to sleep. Maybe if she was lucky she could find someplace that didn't smell like shit or piss.

"Seriously kid, where ya wanna go?" the guy asked as he opened the back door of the taxi. Maggie shook her head.

"I don't have any money to pay for it, I told you!" she said tiredly. This guy was getting on her nerves. All she wanted to do was find some place to sleep and break down and cry.

"Just get in the cab!" he snapped back at her angrily. She sighed, but got in the cab anyway, hoping he wasn't some rapist out to get her. She watched as the guy got into the front seat and started the car. She could feel him watching her in the rear view mirror and it made her tense up a bit. What was she thinking!

"What's your name kid?" he asked as he threw his weed out the open window and started to drive off.

"Maggie." she said as she looked out the window. She could see small shops and people and buildings everywhere. Some were run down some were quite nice. Some were big some were small. It was everything she had thought it would be, plus more.

"Names Val. Val Fields." he answered as he turned a corner. Maggie watched as the street became dirty and more run down and the people became more rugged and mean looking.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked as she continued to look out the window.

"To a friend."


	2. Saul England

**_Author's Note:_**

**IT'S THE SECOND CHAPTER! WOW! Lol. Anyway. I just got done proofreading this and what not so here it is. I hope you guys like this chapter.**

"Stay close to me." Val told her as he lead her down a dark hallway in a rundown apartment building. Val and Maggie had talked about everything on their drive to the apartment building. They talked about how Maggie had ended up in New York, scratch everything about the old gang. She had just told him that she had gotten into some trouble and had to come here. He had told her how he ended up diving a taxi and what he was doing for a living.

Maggie did her best to keep up with Val, dodging a few druggies that were spread around the hallway. They had already been through 3 floors that were exactly like this one, and each time they went down another hall way the number of junkies increased by at least 3. Some of them, she could tell, were just down right homeless. They were just sleeping in the halls for the heck of it, not having anywhere else to go. Val suddenly stopped, turned and knocked on a door. Maggie sighed inwardly. She really had no idea why she was letting some random guy lead her all around Brooklyn. She felt really stupid at the moment.

"Who's there?" a deep and hoarse voice called from the other side of the door.

"Its Val." Val hollered back, banging on the door again. She could hear the guy on the other side as he sighed and then chuckled before hearing the chain unlock. She watched as the door swung open and a tall skinny guy looked at them. He looked like one of those smart types. He was tall, about 6 feet and had jet black hair with nice almond shaped blue normal blue eyes. He looked like a regular guy, not a hoodlum at all.

"Maggie, this is Saul England." Val said as he pointed the guy in the doorway. "Saul this is Maggie. She just arrived in Brooklyn." Saul nodded.

"Maggie, this is the guy to come to when you got problems." Val said, his accent showing through. "He can cook, clean, wrap ribs, sew cuts...the works. He's always at work though. He writes a lot for the paper." Maggie nodded slowly as she looked Saul up and down. He looked to be around 23 at least. 5 years older then Val.

"Is it ok if she stays with you for a while? At least till I can find somewhere else to put her?" Val asked, his eyes looked a little warmer now that he was out of the crowds. Saul nodded slowly.

"I don't see why not. I gotta work a lot so you'll be here alone though." he told her as he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.

"Its ok." Maggie said, her thoughts drifting. She needed to be alone anyway. She still had a lot of things to go through in that big head of hers and she wanted to get it all sorted out soon. She just wanted a little breathing room and time to collect herself, though she didn't know how long it would take her.

"It's settled then. I gotta get to work." Val said before patting Maggie roughly on the shoulder and walking back down the hallway and disappearing on the stair case. Maggie watched him disappear on the staircase before turning back to Saul.

"Come on in then. I got a pull out couch you can sleep on if your tired. You'll have to put sheets on it though. I know the place is messy, I just don't have much time to clean anymore. I'm at work most of the time."

"Then why are you home?" Maggie snapped. She wasn't meaning to seem mean but she was a little on edge.

"I'm sick." he told her bluntly, glaring at her coldly. Maggie nodded and ran her fingers along the old dusty green couch. His floors were a nasty dark color of wood in some places and in other places it was stained green carpet. He had a small kitchen with dishes everywhere. His dinning room table was cluttered with paper and what looked to be a type writer. He had another typewriter over by the window on a desk with even more papers around it. There was a short hall way that lead to what looked like to be a bathroom and a bedroom. She walked slowly to the bathroom and found a small shower, a toilet, and a nasty sink inside. She screwed her face up in disgust. _I thought Val said this guy could clean, _she thought as she walked back into the living room.

"So, where'd you live before you came here?" Saul asked as he sat down on the couch. Maggie watched as a huge cloud of dust flew up into the air and Saul started coughing.

"You know if you would beat the couch cushions once in a while you probably would be sick right now." she commented as she sat down on a clean spot of the floor. Saul glared at her as he continued to cough. _I guess living with Darry really did change my attitude_, she thought. A small smirk threatened to show its self but she refused to let it. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop thinking about the old gang.

"I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma." she said finally.

"Why'd you move?" Saul continued to question.

"I got into some trouble." Maggie answered simply as she listened to all the car horns outside. She saw Saul nod out of the corner of her eye. She turned and watched Saul as he got up and walked into his room. A few minutes later he came back clutching a black and yellow jacket with some kind of emblem on the back. He threw it to her and she caught it with one hand on reflux.

"What's this?" she asked as she straitened it out and looked at it. It was pure leather and smelled like it too. It had yellow streaks going down the sleeves and on the back it had a tiger and Saul's name was at the bottom of the tiger in leather, custom made.

"Our jackets." he said, shrugging.

"Who's 'our'?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. She quickly put it down, it reminded her of Two Bit. She shook the thoughts away and turned her attention back to Saul.

"Val's gang. We're called the Tiger's." he said pointed to the jacket. "I'm sure you'll meet the rest of us pretty soon."

Maggie nodded slowly. Great! Just what she needed. Another gang to get attached, too.


	3. Pete Alford

Maggie woke up groggy the next morning and stumbled out of bed. It had token her forever to get used to the couch and her new surroundings. She had stayed up all night just staring up at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come, but it was kind of hard.

She sat up slowly and tried to straighten the kinks out of her back, hissing as her muscles made their own squeal to the movement. She had had dream after dream about the old gang, which didn't help with her sleeping pattern either. She had thought about waking Saul up for some sleeping medicine, but had decided against it. She didn't want to intrude on him any more then she already had.

She slowly got to her feet. The stained carpet made a soft squish underneath her feet and she tried once again to relieve her back of the kinks. She sighed with pleaser as her back finally started to unravel and stretched a little more. She yawned heavily as she started to walk towards the bathroom, her eyes half closed. She tripped unexpectedly and fell to her knees, making a loud thud.

"Ah, shit!" she heard a very deep voice say from behind her. She crawled up so she was on all fours, her back muscles screaming at her again. She looked to see a guy around 17 lying on the floor, clutching his stomach. She pieced it all together quickly, figuring she must have tripped over him. She stared at him wide eyed as she took in his tall, slender, and muscular form. He was making his way up the 10 Hottest Guys Alive list and was in a tie with Sodapop. His hair was shaggy and a light brown color and looked disheveled. He actually resembled James Dean quite well, and that was defiantly a plus! She suddenly gasped, realizing that she had sat there for a few minutes staring while he laid there in pain.

"I am so sorry!" she told him as she crawled to him and stopped a couple of feet away.

"Its ok." he grumbled, finally opening his eyes to reveille deep, piercing, wide chocolate brown eyes. She almost fainted looking at him.

"Who're you anyway?" he asked as he sat up slowly and rubbed his tired eyes.

"I'm Maggie." she said simply.

"Just the person I was looking for." he said quietly. "Val said he had met some girl on the street. I came over to check you out, but by the time I got here you were already asleep. So, I crashed on the floor. You were having some nasty dreams when I got here, too." he stated, all in one breath and panting afterwards. Maggie blushed for the first time in a while and looked down.

"Sorry about tripping over you."

"Really its alright!" he told her as he leaned up some more, reveling his tight abs and well toned arms.

"Pete Alford." he told her as he stuck out his right hand to shake hers. She smiled slowly and shook it sternly.

"Val told me about you. Said you got a fiery temper and would probably fit in just fine." Pete said with a chuckle. Maggie nodded, remembering how she had gotten to be so cold. And that led to thoughts of Dallas and Johnny and Ponyboy and Steve. She shook her head violently to get the thoughts to go away. She felt a little on the crazy side having to do so.

"You ok?" Pete asked as he narrowed his eyes at her skeptically. She nodded quickly.

"Fine. Just a little head ache." she lied. Pete nodded.

"You hungry?" he asked as she got to his feet and helped her up, too. She nodded hastily. "Ok. Let's go eat." he said rubbing his stomach. Maggie walked to the couch and threw on her converse shoes. Memories flashing through her head of the day she had gotten them.

_**Flashback**_

_"Its a present from all of us to start your life here." Darry explained, a stupid looking grin plastered on his face. Maggie just nodded slowly as she reached out and took the present from Darry. She looked down at the present and then back up at all of them before untying the bow and taking the paper off._

_A blue tee shirt lay in side with a pair of worn out and faded jeans and at the bottom lay a pair of black hie top Converse shoes. Maggie smiled, just the kind of clothes she liked._

_"I swiped the shoes for you!" Two Bit exclaimed happily, gesturing madly with his finger to the shoes. Maggie smiled even wider. He was so stupid sometimes and she was beginning to realize it._

_"And Darry picked up the pants for you at a rummage sale." Pony added._

_"And...well, we're not quite sure where Dally got the tee shirt from." Soda explained as he scratched his head and looked at the tee shirt. Maggie looked over at Dally and raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged, not showing any emotion like always._

Maggie could feel the tears stinging her eyes as she once again shook her head of the memories. It felt like she was never going to stop thinking about the old gang. Everything here reminded her of them. She didn't belong here, she knew. She belonged with her family back in Tulsa, but she had to get over it. This was her home now. She wouldn't be able to bear going back and seeing Dallas like that. She was afraid if she did then she would just end up hurting herself even more them being this far away from them. She knew if Dally woke up and she wasn't there that he would understand, but the problem in that was the **_IF_**. If was the big word in that sentence and it weighed on her conscious a lot. What _if_ Dally never woke up? What _if_ he stayed like that forever? Would Maggie stay in New York forever _if_ that happened?

She shook her head again and finished tyeing her shoes before getting up and noticing that Pete now had on a white shirt, boots, and torn up old dirty jeans. He nodded to her and scribbled a note on a piece of paper before leading her out the door. Maggie watched as they passed some of the same drug addicts she had seen when she had first come. They even passed some that were new. She shivered when she stepped outside into the busy streets. It felt so weird for her here, not that she didn't love it, but it just felt weird. Her body, her mind, and her heart knew that it wasn't home, but she just kept telling herself to get over it.

"So how'd you end up in New York?" Pete asked as they walked down the street, a girl or two occasionally turning to check out Pete and scowl at Maggie.

"I got into some trouble back where I lived in Oklahoma." she told him, giving him the same lie she had given Val.

"Your a long way from home." he said a warm smile on his face as he pushed people out of his way. Maggie nodded.

"You have no idea!" she wanted to scream at him, but instead she just whispered it.

"So you met Val and Saul, which means you still have Dwain, Bennie, and Carson to meet. Don't worry about them though. I'm sure they'll come around sometime. You know you're real lucky to have run into Val when you did. He's real popular around here. He's got a lot of power, and if you stick with him and the gang it means your automatically protected." Maggie nodded slowly, liking how it sounded so far. Protection was always good, but could they feed her? A short trip of guiltiness flooded over her as she thought about what she was thinking. Could they feed her? What was she now, helpless? She had eaten out of dumpsters before, she could do it again.

"How'd you guys all meet each other?" Maggie asked as Pete lead the way into a small nice looking dinner on the corner. He lead her to a corner booth and she sat down across from him.

"Well, Bennie, who you haven't met yet, is Val's half brother. So they grew up together. Saul, me, and Dwain grew up together. And Carson just joined the group about 2 years ago." Maggie nodded and looked up at the waitress who had just gotten there. She reminded her a little of Angela. Long jet black curly hair that was in a messy ponytail. She had dark red lipstick on and lots of mascara and eye linger. She was really skinny, Maggie noticed, she probably made her living off of working 3 jobs and taking drugs.

"I'll take the usual." Pete told the waiter, smiling up at her. The waiter nodded slowly as she wrote something down and then turned to Maggie.

"I just want some toast, orange juice, and scrambled eggs, please." ordering what she would have eaten back home with the other gang. She noticed now that she was starting to train herself _not _to think about the gang. She was starting to be able to suppress her thoughts better.

"What's your story kid?" Pete asked suddenly, giving her a serious look.

"What do you mean 'what's my story'?" she asked, glaring at him.

"I know your lying about the trouble thing. So, what's the real story?" Maggie looked down at the table quickly, afraid of what would happen if she didn't. She was too afraid he would be able to see right through her fake smile and fake happiness. She wanted more than anything to spill her guts to someone about everything that had happened, but she didn't know if that was the best idea right now, especially since she didn't know these people very well.

"You can trust me Maggie. I'm not gonna hurt ya." he told her as he folded his hands behind his head seriously. Maggie sighed heavily and looked up for him. She looked strait into his eyes for the first time she had met him and started in on her story. She told him everything from meeting Dally to to leaving Tulsa, and then she made him swear not to tell anyone else that he knew in their little "gang". Pete's expression had turned to shock when he heard Dally's name and this sparked some curiosity in Maggie.

"How do you know, Dallas?" she asked suddenly, figuring that if he got to ask her questions then she got to ask him questions.

"I don't. I just know the name." Maggie studied him for a little bit before finally deciding that he was telling the truth. A little while later the waiter finally brought their food out and Pete started to dig in.

"You need a little salt in your orange juice!" Pete said randomly before dumping some salt in her orange juice and laughing wildly. Maggie glared at him playfully, looking from her orange juice to Pete and back again.

"Yeah?" she asked, her glare still playful and a smirk on her lips.

"Yeah!" he said back in between fits of laughter.

"Well, you need a bit of ketchup on your omelet." she said as she squirted a big glob of ketchup on his omelet. He picked up his fork and ate a piece, making a funny face.

"That tastes really nasty!" he commented as he took a swig of his coke.

_**Character Review:**_

**Val Fields- Leader of the Tigers.**

**Saul England- Smart, big brother of the group. Like Darry in his own way.**

**Pete Alford- The Sodapop of the group. He's drop dead gorgeous, a bad boy, AND he's really smart! **


	4. Bennie Fields

Maggie and Pete sat in the dinner talking when the door ringed for about the millionth time, but something about this time made Pete look up. He smirked when the whole dinner was filled with sounds of yelling and howling and cat calls.

"Here comes Val, Saul, and Bennie." Pete commented as he nodded towards the door. Maggie looked up to see Val, Saul, and another boy making their way over to their table.

"Good mornin', Maggie." Val said cheerfully as he sat next to herand swung an arm around her shoulder. Maggie watched closely as they other guy sat down next to Pete and smiled at her warmly. Maggie returned the smile, her's a little colder then his had been.

"This is Bennie, Val's half brother." Pete said as he patted Bennie roughly on the back and chuckled as Bennie punched him playfully. Maggie studied him a bit, taking in his darker complection and his jet black hair. He looked to be around 16 and very mean, though not as mean as his brother.

"He's 16." Val confirmed. "And he's got no book smarts what so ever. Its all street smarts." Val continued. Maggie nodded towards Bennie and smiled a little.

"This is Maggie, Bennie. We don't know too much about her, only that she's cool enough to hang with the Tigers." Val said as he smiled at Maggie. Maggie laughed a little, her voice unsteady and unsure. She really didn't know if she wanted to be excepted in to someone else's family so soon. She really didn't know if she wanted to let go of the old gang so soon.

"You guys seen Dwain or Carson around? Maggie still has to meet them." Pete asked as he downed a gulp of bitter black coffee. Maggie shuttered just thinking about the taste.

"Nah." Bennie and Val answered at the same time and laughed.

"Dwain was over at our house, but then he went out partying, so who knows what happened to him." Val added and Bennie nodded.

Maggie, some how, finally took the time to look Bennie over. He was much like Val except the fact that his eyes were less cold and a blueish green color. His hair was cut short and was what looked to be a dirty blond color. He had nice pearly white teeth that showed when he smiled. Maggie came to the conclusion that he was the type of person that would keep you safe and had seen a lot in his life. Maggie realized that when they said he had a lot of street smart, they weren't joking. Bennie smiled to her, realizing what she was doing. It was one of those cocky type of smiles that said he knew he was pretty and you couldn't deny it. Maggie just shook her head and smiled back. A playful glint in her eye.

"Is there a Maggie Lee Curtis here?" a woman's voice boomed from behind a bar. Maggie's head snapped up and over to look at the woman. She was holding a phone to her chest and searching everyone in the dinner, an annoyed look on her face. Maggie shuttered. It had to be someone from Tulsa. Her last name wasn't Curtis of coarse, but whoever it was knew that Curtis would get her attention.

"Yeah, I'm right here." Maggie yelled out shakily as she got out, stepping over Val, and made her way to the woman. The woman handed her the phone roughly and Maggie brought it to her ear with a shaky hand.

"H-h-hello?" she asked, her voice quiet and shaky. She could feel tears stinging at her eyes and she didn't even know why.

"Mags?" a voice rung out on the other end. Maggie closed her eyes, a few tears seeping out from behind her eyelids. She almost dropped the phone as she took in a sharp breathe.

"How'd you get this number?" she asked Darry, who was on the other line.

"That's not important right now. Are you ok?" Darry asked hurriedly. Maggie nodded to herself, Darry was the same worry wart he had always been.

"Fine." Maggie answered softly, her voice breaking again.

"You need to come home, Maggie." Darry stated firmly. "We all need you."

"I can't do that, Darry. I have a life here now. I have friends and a place to stay. I'm getting along just fine, Darry, don't worry about me." Maggie insisted. Darry sighed in frustration on the other end.

"Johnny's all torn up, Mags. He's got no one left. Dal...well, you know. And you, you left for New York. We all need you, Maggie. Please, come home where you belong."

"I **_don't _**belong there anymore, Darry." Maggie snapped harshly. "You know I don't."

"No, you know you do. You belong here, Maggie. No matter how much you want to deny it, you know you belong here. With us, with the gang."

"Pony's a junior now, Maggie. He's moving up there you know. And Steve and Soda, I don't know how but they practically own the DX now. Its not official but they really do. We really need you back, Maggie. Nobody can live without you. Its like 2 big pieces of our world is missing. You there in New York, and Dally..." he trailed off.

"It sounds like you guys are getting alone fine without me." she bit out while trying to keep in sobs.

"Maggie, don't be like this."

Maggie looked up when she felt a soft but firm hand on her shoulder, Val stood behind her, confusion and worry in his eyes.

"Darry, please don't do this to me. I just...I can't deal with it right now. I've been working so hard to get over it, so hard you know? I just can't go back, not without knowing if Dally's going to wake up and be ok. I just can't do it. There's no way." Maggie said, looking away from Val.

"The piece is missing from me, too, Darry." she added. Darry sighed heavily in defeat.

"Hang on, then. Someone wants to talk to you." Maggie nodded to herself, knowing it was going to be someone from the gang on the other end.

"Maggie?" a deep gravely voice asked questionably. Maggie froze, her face blushing red. This time she really didn't drop the phone, but picked it back up quickly. She pressed it to her ear, her whole body felt like it was numb and limp. Memories rushed before her eyes one after the other, over and over again.

_She felt Tim's cold stare on her and looked at him suddenly. There eyes met for an instant before his eyes started to travel down her body just as hers had done to him 20 minutes ago. They slowly went over her torso, lingering on her breasts and flowing down to her flat stomach that was being hugged by the tank top. Then they slowly traveled over her legs from her hips to her thighs and downward to her boots._

_She blushed a little as his eyes traveled back up again and traced over her arms and her neck before resting on her face again. She turned away from him and reached for her still wet coat and shivered. She could still feel his gaze on her as her back faced him, probably checking out her butt._

_She looked back out of the corner of her eye and watched as he slowly stepped toward her, his eyes still tracing over her and his feet making small creaking sounds on the floor. She took in a shaky breath as she looked over his still bare chest and stomach and then his arms. She slowly let it out and turned her gaze back to the wall._

_She listened as she footsteps came even closer until she could feel his hot breath on her neck. She shivered a little bit and waited, not knowing what to expect._

_Tim reached his hand up slowly and ran it down her smooth arm and then back up. She shivered at his touch and her knees felt weak. She turned her head towards him a little bit and looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. He quickly drew away and walked back upstairs. Maggie sighed and relaxed, her knees still weak. She had never felt so drawn to anyone before. She pulled her cold coat over her shoulders and put her books back under her coat. She had come here for nothing, but at least she had gotten to interact with Tim the way she did. She was still going to have to walk home though._

Maggie shook her head, tears in her eyes yet again. This time a few spilled over her invisible barrier and slipped down her cheeks.

"Yeah?" she asked finally, her voice barely above a whisper. She moved over a bit and slumped down on to a bar stool.

"You ok?" Tim asked, his voice as cold and calm as ever.

"I'm fine." she snapped, suddenly wondering why he was caring for her now when just a little while ago she had been laying a hospital half dead and he hadn't bothered to help her or even come and see her. She heard Tim sigh on the other end and more memories flooded back to her in a hurtful tide.

_"Look, Tim-" she started to whisper but was interrupted by his lips softly pressing against hers. She was stunned for a minute and didn't know what to do for a couple of seconds. Finally she pressed up against him and started to return his kiss, opening her mouth a bit and letting him slip his tounge inside. She shivered some as he grabbed her waist roughly and pushed her up against the wall, their tounges still locked in a secret battle. She slowly moved her hands to his back and ran her fingernails against his bare skin. He deepened the kiss and pushed her more against the wall, their bodies touching roughly. She could feel his lower package as he pressed up against her and it gave her a weird thrilling feeling._

------

_"See ya around." he said, just like before. Maggie nodded slowly, a little bit hurt. She started to get out of the car. "Hey, Mags." Tim said before she was all the way out. "About tonight..." he trailed off. Maggie's heart fell, he didn't even have to finish his sentence she already knew what he meant._

_"I get it." she said, trying not to let the hurt show. "You were drunk and way out of line it should have never happened." she chocked out before slamming the door and running as fast as she could inside. She stormed in and slumped down on the couch, either the only one home was Darry or everyone else was in bed._

Maggie shook her head more violently this time. She couldn't stand the pain right now. She just couldn't put up with it.

"Tim?" she asked, wondering if he was still on the other end.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice low and barely audible.

"Did you mean what you said?" she asked suddenly. That memory that had come back to her had made her wonder if he really meant what he said about that night not meaning anything. She heard Tim sigh on the other side of the phone again. He knew which night she was talking about, even though there was more than one.

"I dunno, Maggie. I've thought about that night every day since it happened, I still can't figure it out." Maggie sighed heavily, her heart sinking.

"I have to go, Tim. The guys are waiting for me." she told him as she turned towards Val and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Tell me where you're at at least." he said hurriedly before she could hang up the phone.

"Brooklyn." she answered simply. She heard him cluck his tounge a bit.

"Dallas will beat your ass if he wakes up." he told her. Maggie froze, the same old 'if' again. She was tired of the word 'if'. She let the phone slowly drop on to the counter before turning and following Val back to the table to eat.

**Character Review:**

**Val Fields- Leader of the Tigers**

**Saul England- Smart, big brother of the group. Like Darry in his own way**

**Pete Alford- The Sodapop of the group. He's drop dead gorgeous, a bad boy, and he's really smart**

**Bennie Fields- The cocky 'i'm good lookin' guy. Half brother of Val**


	5. Dwain and Carson

"Which one of you knows Dallas Winston?" Maggie asked as she sat numbly in the booth. Her eyes scanned each one of the boys quickly, looking from one to the other. She needed to know which one it was. She didn't want to hear from anyone in Tulsa again. The pain was too much. She knew that cutting herself off from her past was probably hurting her more, but she didn't care. She just wanted to go on and have a normal life. She wanted to live in Brooklyn without any worries. She wanted to live her life. She wanted to stop being so sad. She wanted to stop remembering the past.

There was so much she wanted, and she knew that she wouldn't get any of it. She was going to have to go back to her past sooner or later. She just hoped it would be later.

"Which one?" she snapped, banging her fist on the table angrily. The plates and glasses on the table clinked together and jumped a bit. She watched as everyone at the table put up a finger and pointed at Val. Val glared at his friends, his eyes piercing and cold.

"How'd you know I knew Dallas Winston?" she asked, her voice cold. Her eyes were stinging, but she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to move. She just wanted to get rid of all the pain.

"You said his name last night in your sleep. I pieced it all together and realized that's where you had come from. Tulsa, Oklahoma. I just needed to know if they wanted you back was all. Honest Mags." he told her. His eyes were full of pity. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at his. She didn't want his pity!

"Don't..._ever_ call them again!" she snapped at him, opening her eyes. Val just nodded and swung an arm around her.

"Don't worry about it little one." he told her, hugging her close to his chest. It all felt kind of weird to Maggie. She was now in the hands of a bunch of guys that she didn't know too well, but they were still treating her like she was their long lost little sister. They reminded her so much of the old gang it hurt her constantly.

"Let's eat." she said as she gave them a half smile and dug in to her food.

"Tonights poker night." Val said as they all left the restaurant together.

"What's poker night?" Maggie asked him as she cocked an eyebrow. She quickly lowered it again, thoughts of Two Bit threatening to show themselves.

"The Tigers get together with the Bulls and the Eagles and have a party." Pete said, shrugging with a smile.

"Bulls and Eagles?" Maggie asked. This place was full of gangs!

"The Bulls are from the Bronx and the Eagles are from Manhattan." Saul explained to her.

"Yeah, and we're all friends. We protect each other's territory and shit." Bennie told her as he started to light up a weed.

"I don't know if this is the right time to drop it on you guys, but I kind of need some more clothes." she told them, looking up at each of them. Their height would have been intimidating if she didn't know them. Val nodded his head, his brow creasing in thought.

"Here." he told her as he stuck a hundred dollar bill in her hand."

"This is way too much-" she started to protest, but was cut off.

"Then don't spend it all. Spend half and then you can save the rest. Now, which one of you wants to take her shopping?" Val asked as he looked at the other 2 boys. They both looked at each other before Pete finally raised his hand, smirking at Maggie.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Bennie stated as he looked at Pete's smirk. "If we let Mags go with Pete she might come back looking like our regular slut or somethin'." he stated. Val nodded his head and stepped closer to Pete.

"Nothin' revealing. We don't want any problems with fellas and our little sister here." he told Pete. Pete grumbled to himself, but nodded anyway.

"Come on." Pete said as she dragged Maggie away. Maggie waved at Bennie and Val and before she knew it they were out of sight. She looked at her surroundings, wondering where Pete was taking her.

"Where are we going?" she asked him as she looked around some more.

"To a little store a few blocks down. Its got everything you'll need." he told her, smiling a little as he lead the way.

10 minutes later Pete and Maggie were indeed entering a little corner shop that was a few blocks away from where they had been. It was jammed packed with girls clothing and jewelry. Anything you could think of. Maggie couldn't remember the last time she had gone shopping. She didn't even know if she had ever gone shopping by herself. Her mother or her sister has always done it for her and Maggie didn't have to worry about a thing. Either that or Maggie didn't have the money to go shopping.

"Where'd Val get this money?" she asked Pete as she picked up a few pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts to try on. Pete glared at her sternly, giving her that protective older brother look.

"Don't ask questions. Just take what you're given." he told her as he threw a little red tank top at her.

"No way!" she yelled as she threw it back at him, temporarily forgetting about the money thing.

"Yes way!" Pete mocked, throwing it back at her.

"Val said no revealing clothing." Maggie retorted throwing it back again.

"Its not that revealing." he said, finally giving up and putting it back on the shelf.

"You really suck at the older brother role you know that?" Maggie asked him with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, fake hurt in his voice.

"Never mind just wait out here while I try these clothes on." she told him as she laughed at him a little. She slipped into a dressing room and tried on all the clothes in her big pile. She ended up buying half of it and the other half she didn't like. Before she knew it she was back in Saul's apartment getting ready for poker night that they held at a local bar around the corner.

She didn't know whether to be nervous or to be happy that she was finally meeting more people. A small voice in the back of her head nagged at her to get some girl friends but she pushed it away. She had lived with guys for about 2 years now. She didn't need any girl friends.

'What about boyfriends?' half of her said. She ignored that part too, trying to remember the last time she had tried the boyfriend thing. She moved slowly as she pulled on a tight black shirt and a pair of dark jeans. She pulled on her same black converse and the ends of the jeans spilled over her shoes, leaving the ends to drag on the ground. She hated being short. She moved over to the mirror and pulled her hair up in a pony tail. She need a hair cut. She fixed her bangs so they were tucked behind her ears instead of in the pony tail and continued to brush her teeth and putting on a bit of foundation and lip gloss. She looked in herself in the mirror. There was something missing she knew, but every time she looked at herself she got a deep pang of hurt in the pit of her stomach.

She couldn't get over that feeling that told her she was running away from her problems. She knew if she kept doing that she wouldn't get anywhere in life, but what else could she do? Stay in Tulsa and watch herself die a little more each day? She had never really realized how much she had needed Dallas until that day when he was shot. She had never thought about the hurt and agony she would have felt if she lost him and now she knew. She knew how much it hurt, and she knew it wouldn't go away. It would never go away and running away from her problems wasn't making it any better. But it had been the only option open.

"Maggie!" Pete whined as she knocked on the door. "I gotta piss! Plus we gotta go!" he said pushing on the locked door a bit. Maggie laughed a bit as she unlocked the door and watched as Pete stumbled into the small bathroom.

"You look hot!" he said out of the blue as he straitened himself up. Maggie smiled a bit and walked out the door, closing it behind her and shaking her head. She smiled and greeted the 3 (Val, Bennie, Saul) other guys as she walked into the living room and sat on one end of the couch. By the time Pete ever got out of the bathroom it was already 9:00 and they were supposed to be at the bar at 9:30. All five of them walked out of the apartment together, making sure to fend off all the homeless people that came begging for money.

"Put this on." Saul told her as he threw his Tiger's jacket at her.

"What for? Its not that cold." she asked as she pushed the jacket onto her arms and shoulders. It was twice as big as her but still made her look hot.

"So everyone knows who you are." Bennie answered for Saul. Maggie nodded slowly, figuring it was just the way things were done in New York.

"How'd you get so much money?" Maggie asked Val finally. She had been itching to figure out the answer to her question but no one had been kind enough to answer it. Val gave her a sharp glare. One of those that said 'as long as you have some don't ask questions'.

"Look, I was just wonderin' ok? I've never seen someone have that much money in their pocket at one time." she said with a shrug. Val continued to glare at her for a few more seconds before looking away. Pete slung a protective arm around her and attempted to cheer her up by skipping and singing 'Were Off To See the Wizard. It cheered her up for a little while until she looked back and realized that Val was suddenly in a bad mood. She hadn't know him for that long, she realized, so maybe she just needed to know what pushed his buttons and what didn't.

She walked in to the tiny bar on the corner as Saul held the door open for her. She looked around, it wasn't that different from the Dingo. The air was full of smoke and there was some booths in one corner, a bar in another, and some pool and poker tables in the back. Pete pointed his finger in the direction they were going and she walked strait back to the back. There she was answered with a whole lot of cat calls and jeers. She blushed slightly, and turned around to look at Pete for comfort. But as soon as she turned around the whole room went silent. She turned back around and stared at all the unfamiliar men and wondered what had made them all shut up.

"Told you everyone would know who you are." Saul said in a teasing voice as he passed her and shook hands with one guy after the other, a wide smile on his face.

"Who's the broad, Val? And why is she wearing one of our jackets? And are we gonna get in trouble for having her here?" a tall guy asked. He looked to be about 19 and had short light blond hair. He, too, was wearing a Tiger jacket and it came to her that he had to be either Dwain or Carson.

"Her name's Maggie." Val answered as he came to her side and slung an arm over her shoulders. "I found her and no we ain't gonna get in trouble." Val answered with a smirk. "She's been staying with us for a couple of days, you just haven't been around to meet her yet. Where's Carson?" Val asked, scanning the crowd for Carson.

"Ahem!" Maggie cleared her throat, hoping Val would introduce her to the Dwain, she hadn't yet met. Val turned around and looked at her.

"Oh!" he said, chuckling a little. "Maggie, Dwain. Dwain, Maggie." he said finally. Maggie smiled at Dwain hesitantly and nodded in his direction.

"There he is." Val muttered. Maggie turned to look at who he was staring at and her mouth fell open. A boy who reminded her a LOT of Johnny was walking there way.

"Carson." Val greeted as he finally got there. Carson was short and kind of shy looking. His dark black hair hung over his eyes a little in wisps. He looked to be about 16.

"Carson this is Maggie. Maggie this is Carson." Maggie nodded to Carson, a small smile gracing her lips. She could tell already that she was probably going to like Carson just by the way he acted .

"Come on, Maggie, I'll get you a drink." Carson said, a wide smile on his face. Maggie nodded and grabbed his out-stretched hand, letting him pull her along.

"So, Maggie, what brings you to Brooklyn?" Carson asked as she grabbed two cokes out of a bucket of ice in the corner.

"Just some problems in Tulsa." she answered with a shrug, hoping he would leave it at that.

"What kind of problems?" he pressed, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Just some family problems." she said hurriedly. "Can we just not talk about?" she added, hoping he wouldn't take offense.

"Don't worry about it I understand. My old man's a drunk and my mom's a whore. So I guess I know what your going through." _You have no idea, _Maggie thought as she nodded and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess no one's families perfect." she said with a sigh. Her eyes got that glazed over far way look as she remembered back to Tulsa. She didn't know whether she missed the gang or she just missed having somewhere she belonged.

Besides, isn't wasn't like any of them had come to her rescue when she was in the orphanage. _Shut up, _half of her brain told her harshly. Then again they hadn't visited her that much when she had kidney failure. It seemed like in her time of need they all just up and decided to leave. She really had needed them, too. All she needed then was someone to talk to, someone to cry on, besides the lifeless body of Dallas Winston that had been laying beside her. Tim was the only one who had really visited her, and that visit hadn't even felt like it was right. It was just awkward.

The rest of the night Maggie spent getting to know more about Dwain and Carson and meeting a few other guys from Brooklyn that belong to gangs that were alliances with the Tigers. Maggie also spent the rest of the night trying to find out where Val had come up with so much money at. For some reason, it just striked her odd that he had so much.

She sighed when she finally got back to Saul's apartment. It was a little after 12:30 and she was so tired she was about to fall over. She moved to her luggage in the corner of the living room, not paying attention to any of the guys. All of them were staying at Saul's apartment claiming they had no where else to go (yeah right!). So that left Saul and Val with the back bedrooms, Maggie on the couch, and Pete, Dwain, and Carson on the floor.

Maggie grabbed her clothes out of her bag and quickly changed into them in the bathroom. She walked out wearing a pair of short shorts (Pete's idea) and a wife beater. She fixed the couch up and straitened her covers out before crawling under all of them and laying her head softly on the pillow. She sighed heavily and turned over on her side as she waited for the deep dark pits of sleep to take her. She closed her eyes, letting the heaviness of her eyes take her over. Within a few minutes she was sleeping fitfully.

_Maggie was ran though the dark fog trying to pick her way through what she thought was Tulsa, Oklahoma, but it was so dark she couldn't tell. Her lungs were burning and her feet were getting heavier with every step she took. She didn't know how much longer she could keep running. She didn't even know what she was running for, only that she was running and not stopping. She weaved her way around a trash can that was over turned in the middle of the street and got herself back on her path. A few minutes later when she could barely lift her feet anymore, she stopped. It was the lot. Her heart beat increased even more as she slowly walked onto the soft grass and looked around. She watched as the fog dissipated and revealed two forms. One was on its knees and the other was standing above it. She walked closer and squinted her eyes to get a better look. _

_"Dallas!" she tried to scream but nothing came out. She ran ahead despite the pain she felt, but the two forms just seemed to get far away. She finally stopped again and collapsed with tiredness, her lungs burning even more. She watched helplessly as something metal glinted in the darkness and was raised to Dally's head. She whimpered, but still nothing came out. Everything was silent as she watched the second form cock the gun and pull the trigger. She watched as Dally fell to the ground on his back almost immediately, but still no sound came from the gun. She got to her feet, ignoring the pain once more. This time she was able to run to Dally's side. _

_"It's all your fault!" he yelled up at her before his eyes caved in to darkness, this time she could actually hear it. She looked up at the other form to see someone she didn't recognize._

_"Burn in hell." the guy said before cocking the gun again and pulling the trigger._

Maggie screamed as she shot up on the couch, nearly falling off. She was panting heavily and her lungs hurt like she had actually been running for large amounts of time without stopping. Her face was covered in a cold sweat and tears. Her lips were dry as she finally cut her own scream off and closed her mouth, looking around her frantically. She was in the apartment, but something still didn't feel right.

"Maggie?" she heard Pete ask. She closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, trying to get the words out of her head. _This is all your fault, this is all your fault._

"Maggie!" Pete said again. Maggie shot her eyes open and whipped her tears away as she looked up at Pete. She knew her hair was sticking to her forehead and her face was blotchy. Pete just looked down at her with and pity and sat on the couch next to her, pulling her to him in a comforting hug. She fell into him gladly, soaking as much comfort up as she could. It was all her fault! She knew it now. If she would have just stayed with her sister to begin with none of this would have happened. Or if she just would have let herself live on the streets during the winter she would have died and still none of this would have happened.

She broke down into complete sobs as she thought more about what pain she had caused to everyone, including herself. Everything was always her fault no matter how hard she tried to make things right, it never happened. She balled Pete's white tee shirt up in her fist as she sobbed uncontrollably, letting everything out at once. Pete made comforting shushing noises into her ear as he rocked her back and forth. She knew he was probably wondering what had brought this on but she couldn't bring herself to stop crying and tell him. She needed it all to go away, she wanted it all to just go away! She knew it would never happen though, but she didn't know how to face it all either.

She sat like that for 15 minutes strait, sobbing into Pete's shoulder, oblivious to the fact that the rest of the guys were huddled around her caressing her back to try and calm her down. When she had finally stopped crying and whipped her tears the boys didn't press her to tell them what she had dreamed. Pete just pulled her with him to the floor and wrapped his arms comfortingly around her like a blanket. She laid down on the pillow beside him facing him. She whipped her eyes again and looked at him.

"Thanks." she said hoarsely. Her voice was starting to go from all the sobbing but she didn't care. She needed to thank him some how.

**The Tigers**

**Val Fields- Leader of the Tigers**

**Saul England- Smart, big brother of the group. Like Darry in his own way**

**Pete Alford- The Sodapop of the group. He's drop dead gorgeous, a bad boy, and he's really smart**

**Bennie Fields- The cocky 'i'm good lookin' guy. Half brother of Val.**

**Dwain Olsen- Serious, worry of the group. He always has to make sure things are in order**

**Carson Foley- Like Johnny in his own way.Has that shy look about him but really he's not thatshy.**


	6. To Tulsa We Go

**_Author's Note:_**

**I'm sooo sorry you guys! I didn't mean for it to take this long for me to update! Lol. Oh and warning this chapter is slightly emo too lol..but it gets better at the end :P**

As more and more time went on and Maggie started to know the Brooklyn gang more and more she seemed to slowly forget all of her problems. Things just started to slip away more and more easily and she hardly ever thought back to the old gang. But what she really did ponder was if not thinking about them was good or bad. She didn't want to forget them completely but how could she just let herself think about them all the time? She only ended up hurting herself. She didn't even know why. She had done what she had to do and by leaving them she had decided to start a new life. So why was it so hard to still let them go?

Maggie sighed heavily and pulled off her shoes. She was staying in Val and Bennie's apartment tonight which meant she had to sleep on the couch. Neither of them were nice enough to give up their beds and she couldn't sleep with them.

"Maggie get the phone." Val yelled at her from his room where he was getting her some blankets and pillows for the night. Maggie was kind of getting sick of this whole thing. Every week/day she went from house to house sleeping with one of the guys. She had asked them a few times that maybe she should just get her own place but they had told her she wasn't going to get a job and that it was too dangerous. No matter how hard she tried none of them caved in, especially not Val. She threw her shoes in the corner on her way to the phone, the floorboards squeaking under her feet. She hummed to herself as got closer to the phone, not even hurrying to pick it up.

"Hello?" she asked when she finally answered the phone. The other end of the phone was silent for a moment and Maggie cocked an eyebrow to herself.

"Maggie?" a very rough, very raspy, very tired voice said from the other end.

Maggie's blood ran cold and her hand started to shake as she fought to keep the phone to her ear. She stood there, her mouth opening and closing and the phone barely up to her ear. She finally collapsed onto the ground and slide down the hard wood counter and hit the floor with a loud thud. The wood was cold but she could barely feel it, she was in too much shock.

_This is all a dream. I'm going to wake up in 3 seconds and realize that this isn't happening._ She tried to convince herself but it was damn near in possible. Her mind still knew that this wasn't a dream and that she was fully awake, just a bit numb.

"Maggie?" Val's voice floated towards her followed by his heavy boots on the creaky floor. She kept her eyes pinned on the floor, her hand still shaking violently. She tried to move but her body just wouldn't go anywhere. She couldn't even move a finger from all the shock she was in. She didn't look at Val as he kneeled down in front of her and rubbed her shoulder a bit to try and get her attention.

"Maggie?" the voice on the other end of the phone said again. Maggie took in a sharp breathe, as if hearing that voice was pure confirmation that she was not dreaming and that she was not going to wake up in a mere 3 seconds or so.

"Hello?" Val snapped as he grabbed the phone away from Maggie. His eyes flashed with fire when no one answer.

"Give me the phone, Val." Maggie demanded once she finally found her voice. He raised an eyebrow at her quizzically and she nodded her head, giving him the ok. She took the phone from him, her back still pressed firmly against the counter.

"Hello?" she asked softly, her voice quivering a little. Part of her hoped that he had hung up, the other part of her wanted more than anything to hear his voice again. She didn't know if she was happy or sad when he finally answered her after a long 4 minutes.

"Maggie?" he asked, his voice still full of tiredness.

"Yeah?" she said, as if she really needed to tell him it was her.

"Get your ass back in Tulsa right now." he snapped suddenly. Maggie didn't know whether to laugh that he was still himself or to blow up on him.

"Listen, Steve, I'm not coming back. I just can't do it." she explained to him shortly.

"Yes you are, you are coming home. A lot's been going on since you left and we all need you here, Maggie. Home. With us." he told her. He was so convincing Maggie almost wanted to drop everything and go strait back to Tulsa.

"I need this time for myself, Steve. I'm always thinking about everyone else. Why can't I think about myself for once?"

"Well, you must not be thinking very clearly because your home is in Tulsa with the gang. You can't deny it!"

"Yes I can!" Maggie growled into the phone, anger taking over her previous numbness. "I will deny it all I want!" she screamed at him.

"Maggie, there's something you gotta know!" Steve pleaded with her.

"And what would that be?" Maggie snapped angrily, thinking there probably really wasn't anything she should know.

"Sandy's back in town. She's had the baby." Steve said slowly. Maggie frowned slowly and her heart sank. She remembered back briefly to when Pony had told her that Sandy was pregnant and that she was moving to Florida to live with her grandma...and the baby wasn't Soda's either.

"That's not all." Steve continued. Maggie's heart sunk even further down, if that's possible. "Evie dumped me." there it goes again. "And Darry's working two jobs so he doesn't have to be at home very often. Its a wreck here Maggie. We need you. Without you were just one big mess." he told her, his voice low and slightly hurt. "You used to hold us all together. You used to keep us sane!"

Maggie tried to ignore her feelings but she slowly realized that she was being selfish. Here she was in New York having the time of her life while everything in Tulsa was falling apart.

"Fine." Maggie whispered, instantly regretting her sudden decision. "I'll come back to Tulsa for a week." she told him in a stern voice. "No longer!"

"Ok." Steve said with a relieved sigh. "I'll call you in a day or two and get all the info of when to pick you up." Steve said before the line went dead. Maggie looked up at Val to see him beat red, his eyes shinning with fire...again.

"I have to." Maggie said quietly as she pulled herself to her feet and put the phone back on the hook.

"No you don't have to!" Val screamed at her and banged his fist on the table. Maggie inched away from him, suddenly feeling the fear she used to when Dallas was mad at her. "Your life is here, Maggie. You know that if you go back you'll never come back to New York again. You'll leave New York and the Tigers behind. Then what are we supposed to do?"

"I'll come back Val, I promise!" she pleaded with him, stepping a little closer but taking a quick step back when he raised a hand. She shrunk back in fear but ignored the urge to wrap her arms around herself.

"You won't come back, Maggie. Why can't you just let them deal with their problems and you can deal with yours? You've got enough without going back to Tulsa." he told her, waving a finger in her face threateningly.

"I have to." she said again, shaking her head. "Everything's falling apart there. If I don't go back who knows what will happen to all of them."

"Maggie..." Bennie interrupted, but trailed off.

"What?" Maggie asked him shortly turning on him with tears in her eyes. She didn't know why she was about to cry but something in her just made her want to.

"What's going on?" Bennie asked, looking from Val to Maggie and back again. Maggie's shoulders started to shake with sobs she wouldn't let get out. This was all getting to be too much. She missed gang all the time, but she still loved the gang here. She couldn't go back to Tulsa with out the Tigers getting mad and she couldn't not go to Tulsa without making the Tulsa gang mad. It never worked out! Nothing ever worked her way.

'Wait', she thought, shaking her head. 'What am I doing? I'm going soft. I'm actually crying. I'm turning into one of those fucking Mary-Sue's. What's my problem'

"I'm going to Tulsa and if you say one more word about it I _will _stay there and never come back. I may have left them but they're still my friends. They need me right now so I might as well go and help them." she told Val. This time she was the one with fire in her eyes. She wasn't going to take no for an answer. She wasn't going to let Val hold her here. He didn't own here. She was only 15, yeah, but she was still in charge of herself.

Val glared at her, his eyes not wavering from her's.

"Fine, but you're going to have to wait a week or so." he told her, his voice cold and harsh.

"Fine." she agreed.

"WAIT!" Bennie yelled. "What's going on?"

"I'm going back to Tulsa in a few weeks. Care to join?" Maggie asked, a cold smirk on her lips.

"Well, I have some um..." he trailed off for a minute to look at Val. He scratched the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "I have some business to do." he said. "I won't be able to come." he added hurriedly.

"Fine. Don't come." she added shrugging her shoulders and going back to the living room.


	7. BIGGEST Chapter Ever

**VERY IMPRONTANT NOTE:**

**This is the longest, most intense chapter out of both stories and it will blow you away and keep you hoping for more! So I hope you like it an here it is!**

Maggie yawned loudly, her arms stretching up over her head. She was still tired but she need to get to packing. The phone call she had gotten last week was enough to shake her to the bone, and that's what it had done. Now, she was leaving for Tulsa in 2 days. Val had agreed to let her stay for a week and a half before she had to come back. The rest of the Tigers, though, had fought with her constantly. They couldn't decide which members of the group got to go with her, and which had to stay behind to take care of "business". Maggie was getting sick and tired of hearing them all fight all the time. What she wanted was to go alone and not have to worry about any of the Tigers coming along with her. She didn't want any problems between the Tulsa gang and her new friends. She knew conflict was certain to happen and the Tulsa gang probably didn't need any more of it.

She listened to either Val or Bennie give a huge yawn and then shook her head. They usually weren't up till around 12:00 on Saturdays.

She pulled herself of the couch and straitened her beater before walking into the back of their apartment and entering Bennie's room. She leaned the door frame, watching his chest rise and fall. He had always been a heavy sleeper, as long as she had known him anyway. It was cute when he slept. He looked so innocent. Maggie knew that everyone said that. That every hood looked innocent when they slept, but now she knew it was true.

She padded gently across the floor and crawled into bed next to Bennie, snuggling up to his front side. She put her face next to his on the pillow so she was staring right at his closed eyes. She could tell that he was awake now because his pattern of breathing had changed. He was probably just fake sleeping.

"Psssst." she whispered, rubbing her nose against his. "Psssst."

Bennie groaned and rolled away from her a bit, putting more space between them. She smiled and poked his stomach.

"You're taking me shopping, remember?" she whispered in his ear. He groaned again and rolled over, this time on top of her. She sent out a low groan from his body weight and tried to shove him off.

"Val's taking you." he mumbled softly, throwing his head into the pillow right next to Maggie's head.

"This just doesn't look right." Val's voice said. Maggie looked towards the door the best she could to see Val standing there, looking at the two of them with an eyebrow raised.

"So you're taking me shopping today?" Maggie asked him, her voice was a little hushed but she knew Val had heard her.

"Yeah. I have some business on the streets I need to take care of." Val told her. "Bennie, get off of her. It looks really perverted. You look like a rapist."

"So?" Bennie asked, his voice muffled by the pillow. Val let out a deep sigh and walked the rest of the way in the room. After just a few steps his tall form was towering over both Bennie and Maggie, laughter in his eyes. It took one shove for him to get Bennie completely off of Maggie and before Maggie knew it she was in the arms of Val, wedding style. He carried her to the door way and then dropped her on her feet.

"Go get ready. I have to talk to Bennie-"

"About business?" Maggie cut him off, rolling her eyes. Val nodded and closed the door in her face. She crossed her arms over her chest, debating briefly whether she should listen in or just go and get ready. She finally decided on the later after a lot of hard thinking.

"You ready?" Val asked, 10 minutes later. He had finally come out of Bennie's bedroom and was now standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Can't you see I'm putting on eyeliner?" she said in a fake snobby voice. Val looked at her sternly, obviously wanting to go already.

"Ok, ok. I just have one more eye." she told him turning back to the mirror. She put on her black eyeliner as quickly as she could and then walked out of the apartment behind Val, sliding on a Tigers jacket as she did so.

"So, where are you taking me?" she asked, stepping out onto the sidewalk and joining the flow of people.

"The same place I always do. Debbie's." he answered shortly, making sure everyone got out of his way.

"And what business do you have to do?" she tried to ask. She was hoping to get an answer, a _truthful_, answer.

"You don't need to know." Val said, not even bothering to look at her but instead quickening his pace.

"Yes, I do." she argued, hoping he would just break down and tell her.

"No." he said sternly. He stopped finally, in front of Debbie's. It was Maggie's favorite little store and it had just the write style of clothes she always liked. Baggy jeans, tee shirts, hoodies, and Converse. Every greaser girls dream. Ok, well not _every_, but pretty close! Maggie hurried forward trying to make it to the door. She stopped when she saw a really hot guy coming towards her and quickly made up a plan. She waited for a few seconds before starting to walk again.

She ran right into him.

"Sorry." she said politely, walking passed him and towards the store.

"Maggie." Val's cold voice cut her off.

"What?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Give it back." he told her, pointing to the guy she had just run into. She knew, though, that if the guy kept walking he would be out of site and she wouldn't have to give it back.

"Hey! Buddy!" Val yelled running after the guy. About 30 seconds later they both appeared in front of her, stranger and all.

"Give it back." Val said again. The stranger raised an eyebrow, looking from Val to Maggie and back.

"No." Maggie said in a whinny voice. She had worked hard for what little skills she had and she didn't want to give it up, now.

"Just do it!" Val yelled again. Maggie could tell his patience was running thin and she probably didn't want to test him anymore. Maggie sighed and pulled the 20 bucks she had token from the stranger and handed it out to him. The guy looked at the money and then up at Maggie. She was surprised to find a smirk had found a way to his lips.

"Nice pick pocket. I didn't even feel it." he complimented, taking the money and putting it in his back pocket where it could be more safe.

Maggie shrugged giving him an innocent smile.

"Val." a voice called. Maggie turned her head and looked in the direction that Val was looking in. She didn't recognize this guy.

"Go in the store, Maggie." Val said sternly, still looking at the guy approaching them, the stranger long since gone.

"Why?" Maggie asked, looking at Val now. He had gone tense and his face was rigid. Which only meant one thing. That this business he was in, was also dangerous.

"Why are you doing this with me with you?" she asked him sharply, grabbing his forearm. He looked down at her, his eyes cold.

"Val." a new, even colder voice said. Maggie looked in front of her. Whoever it was that had called Val's name had just reached them. He was as tall as Val, but not as handsome. Actually he was down right ugly. And skinny. And his teeth were rotted.

"Does this come along with the package?" the guy asked Val, nodding towards Maggie. Maggie looked towards Val, fire in her eyes. She knew now. She knew what his "business" was. She knew what the Tigers were involved with.

"Is Val short for Valium?" she shot out. It was the only drug that began with a v that she could think of, so she had shot it at him. She shook her head and stormed off down the street. Headed towards no where. She didn't know where you wanted to go. She did need to go shopping but she couldn't now. She had pissed off the only guy she knew with money.

3 hours later Maggie sat in Val's apartment again. All of the Tigers sitting in front of her. They were trying to decide which of them were going to with her to Tulsa. They kept fighting about who was going and they had already ruled out Bennie, since he had business. And Saul, since he had work. Which left Pete, Val, Carson, and Dwain. But not all of them could go.

"You are no where near responsible enough to go." Val argued with Pete. Pete had said that he was the only one Maggie could really relax with and Maggie actually agreed.

"I think he should go." Maggie cut in, coming out of her daze she had found herself in. Val glared at her, kind of like that you haven no authority glare.

"I think Carson should go, too. The Tulsa gang will like him a lot. He's kind of like Johnny in his own way."

"Johnny?" Carson asked, an eyebrow raised.

"You'll meet him when we go."

"Who says you get to decide who goes?" Val barked up.

"Who says that you do?" Maggie challenged. The room feel silent, all the bickering and fighting stopping. "Just let them come, Val. It's not that big of a deal and it's not like I need protecting. I'm as strong as any of you guys and I know Tulsa better." Maggie explained herself. She knew challenging Val was a bad idea, but she couldn't help herself.

She wanted to go to back to Tulsa so bad she could taste it. She didn't even know why really. She had spent all this time in Brooklyn convincing herself that she didn't need to go back, that she didn't want to. And now here she was and she couldn't wait to get going. She just didn't get it. She didn't know if it was the Tulsa gang that was pulling her back or if it was her heart. She missed them all a lot. She knew that now. But the other problem was that she couldn't leave the Brooklyn gang either. She loved them, too. She hadn't known them for that long but they were a part of her just like the Tulsa gang was. Life was just one big ball of yarn waiting to unravel and she didn't like it at all.

"Fine." Val growled finally. "You guys can go. But I'm serious, you spend more then a week and a half there and I'll skin you _and_ go to Tulsa to bring you back."

"Try me." Maggie sneered. She still hadn't gotten un-mad at him for lieing to her about the business. Now that she knew she was constantly thinking about it. She didn't know what to think, though. There was no doubt in her mind that the rest of the Tigers were in on it, too. Including Carson. The more Maggie thought about it the more Maggie didn't _want _to think about it. Every time she did think about it she felt betrayed. And every time she did think about it she had to also think about what the Tulsa gang would say if they knew. Especially Darry.

"We're going to go home and pack." Carson explained, patting Pete on the shoulder and nodding to the rest of the gang. They both got up and took turns hugging Maggie before heading out the door. They knew that an argument between Val and Maggie was going to start and they didn't want to stick around to watch.

"Yeah. I better head out, too. I have an article to write." Saul agreed, also hugging Maggie and following Pete and Carson to the door. Maggie sighed, everyone was leaving and she knew why.

"Maggie, can I talk to you for a second?" Val asked, his face and his eyes were stony like they often were when he was made, and Maggie knew what was coming. She nodded to Val and followed him to the back of the apartment until they reached his room. Val closed the door behind him and paused there for a moment. Probably thinking up his attack.

"What is your problem?" he started, looking at her with stern eyes.

"Well, I just don't see why you have to try so hard to stop me from going to Tulsa." she said with a shrug. She thought he had already known that.

"That's not your only problem and you know it!" he snapped back, taking a step towards her.

"I know its not my only problem, but you should know my other problem by now, _Val_." she sneered, taking a step back from him. She hated it when he got that close, he reminded her too much of Dallas...and that frightened her.

"Let me guess, you're mad at me because I didn't tell you what me and the gang are into?" he asked, hitting the nail right on the head. Maggie simply nodded, not feeling the urge to say anything more.

"Look, Maggie, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I was afraid you wouldn't trust us if you knew."

"Well, you're right. But now I trust you even _less _then I did before! I mean, come on, Val! Think about it! How am I supposed to trust _drug dealers_?" she yelled at him, throwing her hands up in the air.

"We do what we have to to survive." he yelled back.

"Well, I guess you guys aren't very smart then because there's a lot more that you could do then just sell drugs. How about get jobs? Did you guys ever think of that? Or go to college, or finish high school. There is so much you guys could do but you choose the easy way out. It's your stupidity that I don't trust, and you really shouldn't blame me." she explained to him. She knew she was right, and he knew it, too. Val just didn't want to admit it.

"I'm done fighting with you, Val. I just want to get to Tulsa. We can deal with this when I get back." Maggie told him, stepping around him and opening the door. She took one last look behind her before walking out and back down the hall way.

"You ready?" Maggie asked Pete and Carson 2 days later. It was 5:30 in the morning and they were already at the airport, getting ready to board their flight. It was a 10 hour flight from New York City to Tulsa, Oklahoma and Maggie planned on sleeping the whole way through. She was tired as hell, spending the whole night before tossing and turning in bed. She had went over a whole lot of scenarios of what could happen when she got to Tulsa, and none of them were exactly happy or merry.

"Yeah. We're ready." Carson said, letting out a huge yawn. Maggie nodded and lead the way. This was going to be a long trip.

"Maggie! Maggie, wake up!" Pete's voice slowly faded into her head, followed by poking at her side. She groaned and turned over, or at least tried to.

"Maggie, wake up." this time it was Carson's voice and Carson's finger poking her. So she had 2 fingers poking her and 2 voices telling her to get up. It just wasn't right!

She groaned and tried to swipe their hands away, mumbling that she was too tired to wake up.

"You have to. The plane already landed." Pete told her. Maggie's head shot up and she looked around. People were getting their baggage out of the upper compartments and heading down the isles to get off the planes.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?" she snapped crawling out of her seat tiredly, stumbling every now and then.

"We tried." Pete chuckled out, watching her as she tried standing on her tip toes to get her luggage.

"You're so short." he told her, reaching up and getting it down for her. She scowled at him. It was no time for joking around. She was about to see the people she had been running away from for about the last year. Butterflies had settled themselves in her stomach and her head ache was growing stronger and stronger. She was too nervous to joke around with either of them. All she could think about was the worst possible thing that could happen. Well the second worst possible, anyway. The first worst possible was the plane crashing and that had clearly not happened.

"Let's go. He's going to be wondering where we are." she told Carson and Pete pushing them into the isle behind all the rest of the people. They both sighed at her but did what they were told like good little puppies.

When they were finally off of the plane and in the airport Maggie slowed down, but only because she felt like she was going to throw up.

"You ok? You're looking green." Carson said, turning up a lip in disgust.

"I'm fine." Maggie reassured him. She didn't even believe her own words. She was not fine. She was _NOT _fine!

"He said he'd meet us some where around in here..." Maggie trailed off, searching the near by areas for that familiar guy she was used to seeing.

Strong arms wrapped themselves around her a few minutes later, not even giving her a warning. She couldn't make up her mind as to whether to turn around or run in the other direction. Was she ready for this? Was she ready to face one of the very guys she had been running away from all this time? Was she ready to finally admit where her home was.

No.

But she was going to do it anyway.

"Hi there." she whispered, turning around in his strong arms. She looked up at the guy that had always taken care of her and always worried about her. He smiled down at her, that fatherly/brotherly smile.

"Hey, Maggie." he answered back. Maggie was surprised that he hadn't immediately yelled at her for running of like she did because it seemed like one of things he would want to do the most, knowing him.

"I figured you'd get it bad enough from everyone else." he answered, as if reading her mind. She smiled sadly and jumped into his arms. She felt safe in his arms. She felt like she belonged..._Stop_, she told herself. She didn't want to get attached again. Not when she was only staying for a week and a half. She couldn't put herself through the goodbye process again.

"How ya been, Superman?" Maggie asked, looking at him now. He looked older then ever, and more stressed then ever, too. His eyes were more sad then cold and his hair looked like it had already started to go gray. He looked bad. He looked worn out.

"Well you know." he said with a shrug. "Working, keeping on Pony's back. The usual." he said with a nod. Maggie nodded back, a sad smile finding its way to her lips.

A cough sounded from behind her and she turned around to look at Carson and Pete. She smiled at them both and stepped away from Darry.

"This is Pete and Carson. They're just a few of the guys I met in Brooklyn." she told Darry.

"Hey." Pete said, sticking his hand out to Darry. Darry looked at him, anger flashing in his eyes for a brief moment before it was gone. He stuck his hand out and clasped it firmly in Pete's, squeezing his hand to give him a glimpse of how strong he really was. Pete's smile faltered but remained on his face until Darry drew away.

"Nice to meet you." Carson said, also sticking out his hand. Darry seemed to look at him and Maggie knew that Darry knew why she had brought Carson along. Darry shook his hand, a lot less tougher then he had with Pete's. Maggie was just happy Darry hadn't said anything drastic yet. Like "She belongs to us." or something.

"Let's get going. Soda and Steve have work so we have to catch them before we leave." Maggie nodded and took her bag from Pete before following Darry out to the truck. She smiled when she saw it. It was still the same old beat up truck as it had been.

She threw her bag in the back, telling Pete and Carson to do the same. She jumped in, squeezing herself between Darry and Carson. She knew it was going to be an uncomfortable tense ride back to the Curtis'. But somehow she didn't mind.

"How do you like Brooklyn?" Darry finally asked. They were only a few blocks away from their house but Maggie figured it was better late then never.

"It's great. There's lots there to see. And lots there to do. You never run out of things to do or places to go. And the shopping there is great." at the last sentence Darry turned to stare at her. Giving her that look that asked her if she had lost her mind and gone crazy. It made Maggie laugh a bit. Darry was still half way the same anyway.

Maggie's nausea got even worse when they pulled up in front of the house. It was a little run down then it used to be but it was still the same old place. The butterflies started to flap their wings and fly around inside her stomach then, making her feel like she wanted to puke even more. Her hands seemed to shake in her lap and her bottom lip quivered. She didn't know if it was because of nervousness, sadness, or happiness. Or maybe it was a combination of all three. She just wasn't sure.

She turned and watched Pete and Carson get out of the truck and hesitated before she did the same.

"Leave the bags in the truck for now." she told them both, her gaze locked on the house in front of her. The sound of Mickey Mouse was coming from inside, but no loud voices or laughing could be heard. Something was different. She could tell and she hadn't even been inside.

She took one shaky step after the other until she reached the door. She stopped though, when her hand was on the knob. Did she really want to do this? She was facing so much and putting herself through so much. Could she bare to see them again? She had caused them so much pain and hurt. She had left them to fend for themselves.

_It wasn't my job to take care of them_, she argued with herself. She shook her head to get rid of her thoughts though. She was going to do this. She had come all this way. She wasn't going to turn back now.

She turned the knob of the door and threw it open. Her eyes fought to get used to the light change and she saw big black dots for a moment. Her feet seemed to move on their own as they took her inside and towards the living room. And when she finally got there she almost collapsed.

There they were. All 5 of them. Minus Dally and Darry. They were there, waiting for her to get there. Someone reached forward and turned off the t.v making the room completely silent. She looked from one to the other, not able to take in any of this. She couldn't believe she was back in Tulsa. It was impossible.

She felt her eyes prickle and burn a bit, but she shook it off.

"Hi." she mumbled, looking at her feet.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Carson and Pete at her side. They gave her a bit of comfort, but not much.

"Maggie, before we start to visit and catch up..." Darry's voice started but trailed off. He appeared in front of her standing next to the couch.

"There's something I gotta tell you." he told her with a nod of his head.

"What?" Maggie asked, her voice was shaky and fear had over taken her nervousness. Was Dally dead?

"Dallas..." he trailed off again and looked at the rest of the gang and Maggie's heart fell. She needed to hear him say it though.

"Say it." she told him.

"Dallas is awake." Steve blurted out from beside Soda on the couch.


	8. The Moment Finally Happens

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Sorry it's short..but better then nothing right? There is a poll at the bottom for you guys to take. It would be much appreciated if you took part, lol.**

Maggie stood there, her mouth half open. Her legs were shaky and she felt like she could barely stand. She hadn't even registered fully in her mind that Dallas was awake. It was...just...unreal! It was unimaginable. Her heart pounded in her ears and all she could think about was passing out. And that she did.

"Shit that hurt." Maggie groaned as she finally came to. She looked around, noticing she was in Pony and Soda's room. Her head was pounding and she saw colors every now and then.

"It should have." a cold voice said. Maggie groaned.

"I'm seeing colors _and _hearing voices. I need to go to the hospital." she muttered to herself, turning over and stuffing her face in the pillow. It smelled a lot like Soda, she noticed.

"You're not hearing voices, Maggie. Now look at me." the voice demanded again. Her eyes popped up again with realization...

_"What?" Maggie asked, her voice was shaky and fear had over taken her nervousness. Was Dally dead?_

_"Dallas..." he trailed off again and looked at the rest of the gang and Maggie's heart fell. She needed to hear him say it though._

_"Say it." she told him."Dallas is awake." Steve blurted out from beside Soda on the couch._

"Oh shit." she managed to squeak out before emotions flooded over her. She groaned and held tighter onto the pillow, wishing everything would go away. She had worked so hard to forget about him, to erase him from her memory and she was doing so good. Now, here he was, right back in her life again. She didn't know what to think. Didn't know what to say. She could decided whether to hug him or to slap him. She was just going too crazy to even think.

"This was all a trick wasn't it?" she finally got out. Her voice was hushed and quiet against the pillow but she knew that he had heard her.

"Yeah. You could say that. We knew you wouldn't come back if you knew I was awake. So we lied a little." he told. She knew what expression he was wearing and she didn't even have to turn around. She closed her eyes again. This was _not _happening.

"It's not like it will make a big deal anyway. I'm leaving in a week and a half anyway. I promised Val I would be back." she lied. This was a _huge _deal. This was the hugest of huge. This was BIG!

"Come on then. We have places to go and people to see." he told her. She crawled out, not wanting to face him. How could you face the one guy that had token a few years out of your life? She had wasted about 2 years of her teenage life waiting for him to wake up. How could you face a guy that did that? How could you face the guy that left you.

Somehow though, Maggie found the courage to do just that. She turned around and faced Dallas Winston. But what she saw, made her gasp.

He was as skinny as ever and his eyes were as cold as ever too. His hair had just been cut and it was a huge difference from the curly, long shaggy hair he had had before she left. His face looked old. Like he was already going on 50 even though he was barely 20. She couldn't resist. She flew into his arms, hugging him tightly, and let the tears fall. She had been waiting for this moment for song, no matter how much she pushed it away. She was so happy that it was finally happening that everything else just sort of floated away.

He was there, right in front of her. He could talk and walk. He was ok. He was _ok_! She let go of him a bit and smiled up at him.

"I'm so sorry, Dallas." she told him, beginning to shake with a sob.

"It's alright, Mags." he told her, rubbing her back a bit. "Let's go." he said, leading her out the door. "We can catch up at the Dingo."

**The Poll:**

**Should Maggie get together with:**

**A. Tim Shepard**

**B. Steve Randle**

**C. Dallas Winston**

**D. Pete Alford**

**E. Bennie Fields**


	9. Big Brother My Ass

**_Author's Note:_**

**Ahhh! I tried all last night to get this chappy in by NO stupid fanfiction wouldn't let me upload it. So here it is, it's delayed but it's here:D**

Maggie sat in the car as silent as she could get. Her hand was gripping the side of the door so hard her knuckles were white, but she didn't quite know why. It was just weird. She was sitting in the car with the one guy she thought she might never talk to again, let alone sit in a car with him. Her mind just hadn't processed it all yet. It was like it was impossible to realize that Dallas was awake, and driving her to the local Dingo. It was almost like a dream that her mind kept repeating. She couldn't even feel. Her whole body was numb. It was unfeeling. She couldn't tell what she was feeling more of, anger, love, or hate. It was just so hard to tell.

"We're here." Dallas' cold voice spoke up. Maggie snapped out of her thoughts to find that they were already at the Dingo, the car was turned off and parked, right next to one that was just like it. She nodded her head towards Dally, her whole body still numb.

"So is this whole day going to be awkward or are you going to talk to me?" he said suddenly. Maggie looked up at him as he opened the door for her, searching his dark blue eyes. She knew he was serious but she couldn't bring herself to answer him.

"I just don't know what to say." she whispered as she crawled into a booth across from him. He nodded. "You've been gone for so long. I guess it's like you just disappeared and showed up again so suddenly. What do I say when something like that happens?" she was saying this all more to herself than him and Dally realized that. He also realized that she was right. She was right on every level.

"How was New York?" he finally cut in, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

"You mean how _is _New York?" she corrected. "I'm going back in a week and half. And it's good. Val took me in. He treats me like a kid though. I guess he just worries sometimes. He's a good guy though..." she trailed off though, remembering how she had left it with him. Finding out his secret.

Dally's jaw tightened at the first sentence, Maggie knew, but chose to ignore it. He probably didn't like the idea of her going back now that she was in Tulsa and he was awake.

"Val Fields?" he asked instead, wondering if she was talking about who he thought she was.

"Yeah." she answered, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Why're you hanging out with that guy?" he asked suddenly, almost defensively.

"He took me in. Gave me a place to stay, clothes on my back, and food in my stomach. Why wouldn't I?" she retorted, glaring at him now.

"He's a drug dealer, Mags." Dallas snapped. Maggie bowed her head. She hated thinking about that.

"I know, Dallas. But what can I say? I can't just dump him after everything he's done for me. I'm not happy about it, but I can't stay mad forever can I? You of all people should know that." Dal's jaw tightened again and Maggie looked away when she saw the familiar fire in his eyes. She really didn't want to hear a lecture right now, or have him be mad at her. She had just gotten here and he had just woken up. Why did he have to lay into her now?

"Hey, Dallas, whose the broad-" a familiar voice started to say but stopped when they saw Maggie. Maggie's head shot up. She hadn't been called a broad in a few years, not since she first met the gang anyway.

Her eyes widened a bit and she stared in a bit of shock and embarrassment. Tim stood in front of them, looking at Maggie. He hadn't recognized her dark brown hair from the back, it was longer now or something. And Maggie, Maggie was older, more mature looking.

"Close your jaw, Tim." Dally said, glaring at his so called friend. Maggie glared at Dallas, but kept silent none the less. The last thing on her list was to see Tim Shepard. Things would just be too awkward.

"Maggie." Tim said finally, his voice was low, almost unbelieving.

"Tim." she answered back with a cold nod. She didn't know what else to do. But what _was _she supposed to do? Jump into his arms? I think not.

"Tim!" a woman's voice floated through the Dingo in a singsong voice. Maggie looked up to see a woman about Tim's age just now starting to hang on his shoulder. And Maggie had to admit, she was drop dead gorgeous. She had long legs and perfect shiny light brown hair that went down to her shoulder. It was perfectly strait too. She was no greaser.

"Close your mouth, Dallas." Tim said roughly before chuckling. It was a cold chuckle though, a guarded chuckle.

Maggie looked at Dallas, a wave of jealousy washing over her. But it wasn't because Tim was dating this beautiful girl. No. It was because Dally was staring at her.

_Oh god, _she thought, _did I just think that? _She felt like throwing up. He was like a brother to her.

_I'm just hormonal_, she told herself, trying to make up a reason to why she was acting this way.

The next time she looked up Tim had disappeared into the crowd with his girlfriend and the food was sitting in front of her. She looked at Dallas again and blushed when she found him looking at her.

"Since when do you blush?" he said, a smile forming on his face. A _real _smile.

"Since now." she replied with a smirk, trying to cover up her blush.

"You've changed, Maggie."

"For the worse or for the better?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll let you know when I find out." he told her again. She smiled and nodded her head. They dung in, chatting like old times and talking about random things. Maggie wasn't even thinking or feeling. She was just enjoying being the company of a friend. She liked it here and she didn't want to have to think about the future, and she definitely didn't want to think about her past.

"I'm going to drop you off at the DX with Soda and Steve for a while. I have to take care of some things." Dally told as they both got in the car. She nodded, just like old times was right. He was, yet again, dumping her on someone else so he could go do God knows what.

"Whatever." she murmured as she stared at out the window at the passing scenery. Tulsa hadn't changed a bit. The people in it hadn't changed much either. But it was still like a foreign land to her because she hadn't been there in what seemed like forever.

"I'll see you in a few hours." Dally said as stared out at the road in front of him.

"Sure thing, Dal." Maggie agreed, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. It was just like Dallas to dump her somewhere. He always did it.

_At least he's not dumping with some stupid hoodlum, _she tried to reason with herself, _it's just Steve and Soda. _

But come to think of it Steve hadn't spoken more then 2 words to her since she got back. He hadn't so much as looked at her either. It was weird. Steve and Maggie had always been really good friends. They could tell each other everything and here he was, not even speaking to her.

_Can you blame him? You left him and the gang here by themselves, _her mind screamed at her. She shook it off. She really didn't want to feel guilty right now. She didn't want to think about the stupid decisions she made and she definitely didn't want to think about the fact that she left the gang to fend for themselves, even if it was the right thing to do for herself. Then again the gang never seemed to think about what was best for Maggie, they always thought about what was best for the gang as a group, and sometimes, most of the time, Maggie hated it.

Maggie slide out of the car without another word, if Dallas was going to dump her then so be it, maybe she could get Steve to start to talk to her again.

"Hey Mags, what are you doing here?" Soda asked as Maggie walked into the DX station.

"Dally dumped me here, why else." she said with a shrug, still trying to keep her face cold and bare of emotion. She didn't know why being dumped here by Dallas was making her so mad, but it was.

"Steve's in the back if you want to go talk to him." Soda said, picking up a magazine from the check out counter.

"You've noticed, too?" she asked, referring to the fact that Steve hadn't spoken to her.

"Yeah, I've noticed. All of us have." Soda answered with a nod. Maggie sighed and made her way to the back. She could here Elvis blaring from the radio as she walked towards the car he was working on.

"What're you doing here?" the cold voice made her jump about 2 inches in the air. She calmed down a few seconds later realizing that it was only Steve. She could see now that he was working under the car.

"Dallas dumped me here." she told him, jabbing a thump in the direction of outside even though Steve couldn't see it. She stood dumbly not even knowing what to say. Before she left she had no problem striking up a conversation with him. Now, it was just pure awkwardness.

"So, what's your deal?" she decided on finally.

"What do you mean 'what's my _deal_?" he snarled back, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You haven't even sat down and had a real conversation with me since I got here. You're avoiding me and when I _do _try and talk to you you end up making some idiotic, snide remark to push me away again. So, _what's your deal_?" she explained. She was getting impatient with having to wait this long for an answer. He should know very well what she was talking about but he still avoided it.

"What? Am I supposed to forgive you in a snap of a finger?" he asked, finally sliding out from under the car and standing in front of her.

"Well, that would be a miracle. But since you're not a miracle worker I would just settle for you at least talking to me about it." she told him. She thought for a moment longer before saying anything. "What is your guys' deal? I leave for the sake of my sanity and you blame me! All you guys ever do is think about yourselves. What about me, huh? What if I needed to get away from you guys so I could clear my head and right things? Did you ever think about that? No, of course not. Because all you guys think about is what's best for _you_!" she poked him in the chest at the last word and was angered further when he grabbed her wrist, glaring at her with his icy brown eyes.

They stood there for more then a minute. Steve holding on to Maggie's wrist and the two of them glaring at each other.

"I know." Steve said finally. "I know you're right. Does that make you feel any better? Excuse me for at least wanting you to call or write or let us know you're alright. We were all worried sick back here, thinking about what could of happened to you in the damned city! I can't stand here and talk to you like nothing happened and I can't pretend I'm not mad. You left us, Maggie..." he trailed off, his stare softening.

"You left me." he finished finally. Maggie's eyes fell. She begged herself not to think about it to forget about the whole thing. She begged herself to calm down and think it over before she went hysterical.

"You're wrong, Steve." she blurted out without thinking. "I didn't leave you, because that whole time while I was in New York, my heart was back here. _Right here in Tulsa._ With you. And the rest of the gang. I tried, Steve. I tried so hard to get my heart back. I tried to pick up the pieces. But I couldn't. I couldn't live with myself. I spent night after night wishing that maybe, just maybe if I hadn't of shown up, if I would have died in a dumpster somewhere that Dallas wouldn't have been shot. And you guys wouldn't of had to go through everything. I blame myself for _everything_. And now that I've started I can't stop." tears had started to form in her eyes but she willed them away. She wasn't going to cry and she wasn't going to give in to her emotions. She was going to hold tough. She was going to be stone, just like Dallas. That's all she wanted, to be void of emotion. She wanted life to be simple again. Was that so much to ask?

Maggie didn't stick around to talk anymore, instead, she bolted. She ran out of the garage, out of the station and down the rode. Headed towards God only knows where. She just wanted to leave.

After an hour of walking and thinking and deciding she had landed herself in the park, on the swing. Her hands were shaking from all the drama and pressure and her eyes were red from unshed tears. This is what she had been degraded to. She had come back to Tulsa to see them, to comfort them, to catch up. She had not expected all of this. All of this hurt, all of this pressure, all of this hatred.

"Maggie, Maggie, Maggie. Didn't expect to see you here." the voice was cold and piercing but she recognized it right away and it was the last person she wanted to see right now. She kept her head down, hoping if she ignored him that he'd just go away. Why did she always have to be terrorized by the Shepard boys?

"Go away, Curly." she told him sternly and shakily as he sat down in the swing beside her.

"You know, everyone's looking for you." Curly said matter of factly.

"Well if they didn't have enough sense to look at the park then its their own damn fault they can't find me!" she snapped back harshly, kicking a pile of sand and rock harshly.

"You're temper hasn't changed one bit." Curly observed. Maggie just rolled her eyes.

"You're the last person I want to see on this Earth right now Curly Shepard. I'd rather see a Soc. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back." she stood up, hoping to make it out of there before he stopped her.

Sure enough he just had to grab her wrist. Why was it that guys always seemed to do that?

"Not so fast. Tim's waiting in the car to take you home."

"Home. You know, that's a funny word. Because I don't have one." she was tempted to yell it at him, but instead she said it in a hushed voice.

"That's a little harsh don't you think?" a new voice asked. Maggie stomped her foot on the ground like a child. _Another _Shepard.

"Why do you guys always terrorize me?" she finally asked, turning to face Tim.

"Go get in the car, Curly." Tim instructed, not even looking at his younger brother. Curly cursed under his breathe but obeyed his older brother. When Curly was safely out of ear shot and out of eye site, Tim turned to Maggie.

"I've been waiting a long time for this." Tim said lowly before practically pouncing on Maggie. His mouth clashed with hers and she squirmed under him. She pushed him away with all her strength.

"That's the last thing I need right now, Tim!" she shouted at him, taking a few steps back. "I didn't come to Tulsa so I could make out with you." she cursed under her breathe. She was deeply regretting coming to Tulsa in the first place.

"I'm leaving." she said finally, breezing past him. She sighed with relief when he made no move to stop her. She was finally alone again. She looked up, noticing that the sky was finally becoming dark. It was time to make her way back to the Curtis'.

It took another whole 25 minutes before she got back again. She had stopped a lot of times to talk to some greasers who had welcomed her back to the town. She even got the down low on the Soc activity, which seemed to be pretty low lately.

By the time she had gotten back Darry, Soda, and Steve were all home from work and Two-Bit, Pony, Johnny, Pete and Bennie all sat around the t.v. She had no idea what time it was but she didn't have any intention on talking to any of them to find out.

But luck was against her today.

"Where ya been?" Darry howled when she walked in, standing up quickly to stand in front of her.

"Out." she grunted.

"Soda and Steve tell me you took off and didn't tell anyone where you were going. What the hell were you thinking? You know this town, Maggie. You know the socs'll jump you the first chance they get. What is the matter with you?" he yelled, his voice was harsh and cold, even more so then it used to be. She shook her head at Darry, not offering up an explanation.

"You've changed, Maggie, and I don't like it. From now on you're not going anywhere without someone from _our _gang with you. I'm not taking the chance of you getting beat up again. And I definitely don't want to get chewed out by an angry, drug selling gang leader either!" he snapped. Maggie fumed, her eyes turning to fire. She could here the door slamming behind her, signaling that someone had come in. But she didn't pay attention.

"At least Val was there when someone wasn't, isn't that right, Darry? He didn't let me get shipped off to the orphanage to wallow in my self pity and to fend for myself. At least he would have visited me in the hospital when I was 1 inch from death. He was _there_, Darry. He didn't plunge into his work and start drinking! That's right Darry everyone knows. You drink, you drink a lot. Your as bad as me so don't pretend you're not!" she snapped back, her voice was at its highest level and steam would have come out of her ears if it was possible. How dare he say things about Val.

"At least I don't let myself get caught up with people like Tim fucking Shepard. I can actually take care of myself and my brothers. You on the other hand, you'd be dead by now if it wasn't for us. You'd probably have killed yourself a long time ago." the room fell silent. So silent you could here a pin drop. Maggie hadn't even soaked in what he'd said yet. She was just standing there, her shoulders slumped and fists balled at her sides. What was she supposed to say to that? How was she supposed to react to something like that?

"Shut the fuck up for once in you're life, Darry! I'm not a kid anymore. You can't control me anymore then you can control Pony or Soda. I came to Tulsa for you guys but if you guys are just going to keep treating me like shit and acting like I don't exist then _fine_! I'm going back early!" she yelled. She turned without another word, breezing past a hard body and walking onto the porch. She was going to run off but a strong hand caught her first.

"What's going on?" Dally's voice floated to her ears and she closed her eyes, wishing him away. It was the man that ran away.

"I'm going back early. I'm leaving. For good. I'm sick of it, Dallas. I'm sick of you dumping me on other people and I'm tired of them treating me like a little girl. I'm tired of Steve hating me and I'm tired of Tim making moves on me just so he can use me to get in my pants. I'm down right _tired _of Tulsa. I've had enough. I don't want to be here anymore." she finished finally, taking in a deep shaky breath. It felt good to get all of that out. It felt good to explain it all.

Maggie turned around to face him finally.

Maggie looked up at him. His eyes were slightly softer just by looking at her, but they were still that cold blue she had come to recognize and love. Where had that come from? Since when was there anything about Dallas that she _loved_? He was like her older brother...right? But then why were these feelings suddenly hitting her like a train? She wasn't so sure about anything that involved Dallas Winston and that wasn't like normal. It wasn't like Maggie. These feelings were scaring her but they gave her a since of the unknown at the same time.

Her eyes were searching his now, looking for some kind of answers to the questions she so needed to be answered. She found nothing, just coldness. Her feet seemed to move on their own as she took a step closer and stood on her tippy toes. She hesitated a few inches from him, her mind not working except for one little question.

Did she really want to do this?

She waited for him to pull back or stop her, but he didn't. She closed the last few inches between them slowly, giving him a soft and innocent kiss. His lips were soft, puffy even, unlike anything she had ever felt. It sent a jolt down her spine. A little shock. That's when she realized it and everything seemed to click. The feelings she had when she looked at him, when she saw him smile. The thought about him with Sylvia. Him always leaving her. It all clicked. But somehow, it felt wrong. Wrong on her part. Dally wouldn't want this. He looked at her like a sister, someone to take care of. Someone who couldn't take care of herself, so he did it for her.

Once she was done she finally pulled away quickly placing her hand on her mouth.

I'm so sorry, Dallas, I shou-" she was cut off by being pushed into the side of the house harshly. One hand sat on her right hip, the other on her left cheek. His kiss was anything but gentle and innocent. It was lustful and passionate, it was full of something unknown to Maggie. She wanted to yelp in surprise, even pull back. But she thought better of it, and instead, settled for melting into his kiss.

**_Anothor Author's Note:_**

**OMG! We had like 18 reviews last chapter. Can you believe it? HAH! I'm so happy:D**

**I****hope none of you are too terribly mad with the outcome. But Dallas sweeped the stakes with this one. He won by 2 votes, but Steve and Tim were in a tie 2 behind him. So I had to go with Dallas. Something felt right about this chapter though. It felt good kind of to write her having problems with Steve and then being kissed by Dallas. But oh well...let me know what you think.**


	10. PANIC!

**Author's Note:**

**Ok, so this chapter is short and sweet...well no so much sweet. You guys are probably going to hate me for it actually...so umm...I'm going to go cower and shut up now!**

This moment would have made Maggie think about a movie like Gone With The Wind, or some other cheesy romance movie, if she could have thought at all. This moment was that part in the movie when the two main characters finally got their _mind blowing _kiss and that sappy sweet music started to play.

And this, was where the music would start to fuzz slowly and complete cut off.

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? She had known Dallas for a while now. She also knew how he treated his girlfriends and how he treated other girls. She also knew that Dallas could not be tied down, Dallas could not love. So why, in the name of heaven and earth, was she standing there kissing him now. Why..._why_..._why_...**_WHY_**?

How could she even be sure that the thing she was feeling for Dallas wasn't just lust anyway? How? It could be lust just like she felt for Tim.

Oh god!

Now she was was kissing Dallas while thinking about lusting for Tim. What was wrong with her? This whole teenage bit was driving her crazy. Literally.

And this is where the music slowly but surely turns into the horrific violins when someone in a horror movie is going to get whacked off by the crazy man with a chainsaw. And more or less that's pretty much what happened...

"Dal-" whoever it was had started to say Dally's name, and whoever it was had obviously stopped when he saw Dallas and Maggie attached by the lips, which, Maggie realized, had to be a really awkward situation for whoever was standing at the door. But even more awkward for Maggie.

Maggie pulled away from Dallas quickly, panting for air. Her lips felt like they were swollen but she ignored them as she turned to whoever it was, peeling herself out of Dally's grip.

"Steve..." Maggie's voice just kind of trailed off. She had no idea what to think. Steve out of all the people in the gang had witnessed Dally and Maggie in a lip lock.

DID GOD HATE HER OR SOMETHING?

"Listen, this is _not _what it looks like!" Maggie tried to convince, but stopped at his raised eyebrow.

"Maggie would you care to go on a walk with me?" this...this was a new voice. Maggie could have dropped dead right there. But no, she would have dropped dead if God loved her, but obviously he hated her because she didn't drop dead. She just stood there, like a fish out of water surrounded by three starving, angry fishermen.

What was a girl to do?

So she ran through her options.

A) She could go inside and try and escape into Pony and Soda's room (while risking getting into a fist fight with Darry), B) jump over what seemed to be the extremely huge fence that kept her on the porch, C) go on a walk with the newly arrived gang leader from New York who had just caught her kissing his old "pal" on a porch of a house he had _no _idea belonged to.

Wait! How did Val get here so fast?

"Umm, do I have a choice?" Maggie asked Val finally, shrinking under the stairs of the 3 big guys surrounding her.

"No." Val said firmly.

"Right, then I guess I'm going with you. I'll catch ya later you guys. Actually probably not, because if I'm guessing right, Val's probably going to hang me from a telephone pole for lieing to him. Don't get too hammered tonight Dal. Oh, and Steve keep this on the down low, ok?"

The only feeling that Maggie definitely she could make out...PANIC!


	11. Teenage Hormones

**IMPORTANT NOTE AT BOTTOM!**

**Last Time in Over My Head:**

_ "I'm so sorry, Dallas, I shou-" she was cut off by being pushed into the side of the house harshly. One hand sat on her right hip, the other on her left cheek. His kiss was anything but gentle and innocent. It was lustful and passionate, it was full of something unknown to Maggie. She wanted to yelp in surprise, even pull back. But she thought better of it, and instead, settled for melting into his kiss. _

_ WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? She had known Dallas for a while now. She also knew how he treated his girlfriends and how he treated other girls. She also knew that Dallas could not be tied down, Dallas could not love._

_ The only feeling that Maggie definitely she could make out...PANIC!_

Maggie groaned loudly and rubbed her head as if rubbing it would make her head ache go away. She rolled over...

_Thump!_

She groaned again, this time in even more pain. She opened her eyes slowly when she heard laughter ring through the room and glared Bennie who stood above her.

"You never have been a morning person." Bennie observed.

"No shit." Maggie hissed back, getting up slowly and rubbing her head again.

"You look like shit." Pete said as he came into the room and ruffled her hair.

"No shit." Maggie said again, thinking back to last night. Needless to say she had gotten about 2 hours of restless sleep and had a head ache from thinking so much. She could tell the day was only going to get worse and she had just woken up.

"Where's Val?" she asked finally, taking a trip into the bathroom.

After finding her kissing Dallas Winston last night Val had drug her to Buck's place and got a room. Not exactly the smartest place to take her, seeing as how most of the time Dallas lived there, too. (Maggie had forgotten to mention that little detail.) Of course Pete and Bennie had followed, also going with them to Buck's. Maggie had ended up on a couch in a tiny room while Val and Bennie took the bed and Pete slept on the floor. The room had been full of tension all night and Val hadn't spoken a word to her after he had dragged her all the way to Buck's. Neither had Bennie or Pete either.

"Hey, Pete, pick me out some clothes will you?" Maggie yelled from the bathroom as she brushed her teeth and prepared to get in the shower. She really didn't care how dirty the damn shower was, she really needed to clean up.

"Here." Pete said from beside her, holding out a pair of underwear, a bra, a skimpy brown tank top, and a pair of tight fitting jeans.

"I'm not wearing those." she protested, shoving them back at him and then spitting into the sink.

"Yeah you are." he told her again, shoving them back.

"No!" she told him firmly.

"Shut up." Bennie yelled. "And where the clothes. You'll look hot." Maggie rolled her eyes and grabbed the clothes from Pete, giving him a glare before closing the door in his face. She could hear him yelling 'Victory' before she turned on the shower.

She sighed when she finally stepped in. The steam did its job and took her mind off of everything, allowing her to relax for the quick 15 minutes she was in for.

When she finally stepped she toweled off and pulled on her clothes. She dried her hair quickly, trying to get all the extra water out of it, before pulling it into a loose pony tail at the base of her neck. She opened the door, steam following her. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Val sitting on the bed, head in his hands. He was wearing a white beater, showing off his tattoos on his biceps and his rippling muscles, not to mention his tan skin. And she smiled when she recognized the light pair of baggy jeans she had picked out for him. He looked great...or so she thought, until he looked up at her.

His eyes were tired and he looked about twice his age. He hadn't gotten more sleep then Maggie, that much was clear. He looked like he was fighting a battle about something with himself and Maggie could probably guess what it was. She sighed heavily and made her way over to him, slumping onto the bed next to him.

"I'm sorry." she said sincerely, looking over at him. He turned to her, his eyes glowing, but blood shot. She could tell from his eyes that he was really worried about her. And that he was deeply contemplating whether or not just to leave her here and say the hell with it. "I really am." she added with a nod of her. She sighed and looked down again, tracing a finger over the tattoo of a tiger on his arm. It was in black and white and was reaching out as if hunting its prey.

"I know you are." he said finally. Before she knew it she had been pulled into his lap and eloped in a hug. A hug that felt anything but brotherly.

_Shut up_, she told herself. _Stupid hormones getting in the way of an important moment..._

She smiled up at him from his lap and ruffled his light brown hair. He smiled back at her, a tired smile.

"Let's go get something to eat." Pete said finally, rubbing his stomach.

"Alright." Val agree, getting up and setting Maggie firmly on the ground beside him. She nodded her thanks and walked over to Pete smiling happily.

She could hear Val chuckle behind her as her and Pete did a little dance together. She turned back and looked at him.

"You are slower then a turtle on Christmas." she told him playfully, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door after Pete and Bennie.

"I'll have a cheeseburger and frys with a strawberry milkshake." Maggie said to the waiter with a nod. The waiter didn't say a word as she walked away, swinging her hips as if she was something special. Maggie rolled her eyes before turning back to Val, Pete, and Bennie.

"So, you ok Maggie?" Bennie asked suddenly. Maggie looked at him sharply.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she snapped back, her eyes cold and curious.

"Well, I was just wondering. Because I'm pretty sure the Tulsa gang is pretty mad at you right now."

"Yeah, well-" she started but stopped.

Her mouth flew open as she stair at who had just walked in the door. She couldn't tell at that moment if what she was feeling was hurt, annoyance, or heartbreak. It was all sort of mixed in together.

"Well, I'll be damned." Val said from beside her as he slammed his coke down on the table. Maggie flinched and shied away from him. She could feel the tension and anger that he was feeling and she didn't like it. It was bad enough seeing Dallas here with Sylvia after he had kissed Maggie last night, she really didn't want to see Val and Dal (hehe) get into it.

"Hey, Dallas." Val yelled, his voice cold and threatening. Maggie turned her head sharply and glared at Val, punching him, hard, in the shoulder. He turned to look at her and she shied away from him again.

_He looks so hot, _she thought as she stared at Val.

_NOOOO! _

"Maggie!" Dallas said happily, if that was possible, as he approached the table. Maggie nodded to him, trying to cover up her glare.

"You've met Maggie haven't you baby?" he asked, turning to Sylvia and placing a kiss on her neck.

"Sure have." Sylvia answered as she popped her gum annoyingly. Maggie tensed up at the look Sylvia was giving her. It was clearly one of those I'm-better-then-you-and-that's-why-he's-my-man looks. She tensed even more when she popped her gum again and turned to kiss Dally.

"Slut!" she breathed under her breathe, but not quietly enough.

"What was that?" Dally asked her, eyebrow raised and eyes cold as usual.

"I said 'Slut!" Maggie repeated, getting up. "Or didn't you hear me?" she asked, getting ready to lunge for him. Before she could get the chance Val reached out a hand and pulled her back into her seat with a thud. She groaned as pain shot through her butt and glared at Val.

"You can leave now." Val said, not even looking at Dally but looking in front of him. His fists were clenched and everyone could tell her meant business. "Before Maggie losses her temper and beats the shit out of you whore." he finished, finally looking up at Dallas with a smirk. Dallas glared at him, about to lunge, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off though, grabbed Sylvia, and left with a hurry.

"God damn-" Maggie continued to call him every word in the book before finally settling down and eating her food, starting to joke around with Pete and Bennie again and tease Val.

"Hey," Pete spoke up, "let's go to that gas station and get some candy. I need chocolate."

"Let's not." Maggie told him as she lead the way to the car they had 'rented'.

"Sounds good to me." Val said with a smirk as she got in the drivers side and started the car. Maggie sighed heavily and leaned back, wondering what "exciting" thing was going to happen next.

Pete grabbed Maggie's arm after getting orders from everyone in the car and pulled her out of the car. He smiled down at her and started singing.

"My boy lollipop, you make my hear go giddy up." Maggie laughed and joined in, making the popping noises when necessary.

"Alright go get the food, I'll get the sodas." Maggie told him, forgetting where she was. She hummed My Boy Lollipop as she got the drink and juggled them in her arms. She turned and waited for Pete, who was still singing, as he grabbed the candy.

"I guess you've replaced us, then." a small voice said from behind her. Maggie frowned and suddenly remember where she was. The DX. Soda and Steve worked her. And most of the gang came in to visit them after lunch. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come.

Maggie turned around, looking into the eyes of 5 members of the Tulsa gang. She could tell by the way Soda was standing that he had been the one to say it. As much as she tried to hide it, tears were filling her eyes.

"I-" she started, but stopped when her voice crack. She let out a nervous laugh and brushed away the tears.

"I told you once Sodapop," she told him taking a step towards him, "no gang could replace you guys." she finished, more tears spilling down.

_Maggie walked up to Soda next and through her arms around him. All the memories of the times they used to talk together rushing through her mind._

_"You take care of yourself Sodapop. Don't let no girls go to your head." Maggie told him as she squeezed him tightly. He squeezed her back and chuckled a little._

_"You take care of yourself in big time New York. Don't let no gang replace us!" Soda told her as he kissed her on the forehead. Maggie smiled weakly._

_"No gang could replace you guys." she said before she moved on to Pony._

Soda wrapped her in a tight hug, pulling her head into his chest. She let out a sob as she held onto him. Were things finally straitening out? Were things going to be ok again?

_No._

Her mind had screamed at her. How could things be ok when Dallas was prancing around with a slut trying to make her jealous or feel sorry or whatever he was trying to do? And how could things be ok when she was starting to have feelings for a drug dealer slash gang leader? How could things be ok when she was still fighting with Darry?

She smiled sadly when Soda finally let go of her and continued to hug everyone in the gang.

"You mad?" she asked, when she came to Steve. He shrugged, his dark eyes not even looking at her.

"You have every right to be." she told him with a nod. "But just because your mad at me does not mean I'm not going to hug you." she told him. She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She smelled in his scent and closed her eyes.

"Oh, Maggie, where's mine?" someone said in a sing-song voice. Maggie turned around fire in her eyes.

"God damn you Dallas Winston, you ruin everything." she yelled, walking up to him and smacking him. She watched in satisfaction, as if in slow motion, as her hand came in contact with his cheek and sent it flying in the opposite direction. Her hand stung afterwards but she ignored it and continued to glare at Dallas.

**Author's Note:**

**Do you guys think this chapter is too dramatic? Because if you do I can rewrite it. I was just wondering so let me know. Cause I don't want this turning into a Mary Sue or something.**


	12. This Isn't Right

Maggie stood before Dallas. Her throat for some reason was raw and her face was flushed from anger. Tiny wisps of hair found themselves in front of her blazing slate eyes and you could feel the tension between her and Dallas all the way across the room.

No one moved. No one dared to talk or even take a breathe. It was just Maggie and Dallas, there breathe escaping their lips and colliding in between them to form a little patch of moisture. A red hand print could be seen on the side of Dally's porcelain white face and Maggie could feel the pride running through her veins. She was one of the few girls that had dared to hit Dallas Winston. She knew she shouldn't be proud for hitting him, but she couldn't stop it.

Maggie held her breath as Dally eased forward a bit so his face was closer to hers. She was expecting him to curse at her or throw an insult in her face but instead he shoved her aside and stomped out the door, curses flying loudly from his mouth. She cringed, slowly beginning to doubt slapping him and yelling at him. She turned, though, and watched through the muggy DX windows as he walked quickly to a car and pulled open the drivers door harshly. He disappeared inside and seconds later the car whipped out of the parking lot and was gone down the road.

The whole room seemed to erupt in noise as everyone started breathing at once.

"Hey, Maggie, come by tonight so we can hang out. We haven't done that much since you were here." Soda spoke up as he rang up Maggie and Pete's food. His eyes were once again shinning with playfulness and a wide smile was spread across his face again. He seemed to break some of the tension that was hanging in the air.

"Are you kidding?" Maggie snapped as she hopped up on the counter beside Two Bit and gave him a playful shove. "I'm not going anywhere near you're house with Dallas there!" she told them all, a firm nod followed her words. Two Bit cackled in laughter from beside her and she glared at him.

"Well, he won't be there tonight. Not after that. He'll go to Buck's and get drunk. Either that or go hang with Shepard." Steve said as he leaned in the door frame to the garage.

"Ok. But if he shows up, I'm murdering all of you." she told them, pointing a finger accusingly even though they hadn't done anything yet. They all nodded and replied with simple yeah's before Maggie and Pete headed out. Bennie and Val stood outside, leaning on the car.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're sane." Val told her with a shake of his head. He was smiling though and his eyes, for once, told her he was amused. She smiled sweetly up at him as she handed him a Coke.

"I wonder, too, sometimes." she winked at him before laughing and crawling in the back seat.

"By the way, we're going to the Curtis' tonight to hang out." Maggie told them firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Maggie finished putting on a bit of makeup before dressing in a pair of jeans and a simple white tee shirt. Her hair was gathered at one side of her neck in shoulder length light blond wisps. She smiled at her reflection, examining her teeth to make sure she had gotten them clean enough for her liking. She nodded to herself and opened the door. Only to find Val on the other side ready to knock.

"Sorry for taking so long." she told him trying to ease around him. At the same time he tried to ease around her and they ended up knocking into each other with a lot of force. Maggie stumbled and Val caught her by the shoulders before she could fall. Her gaze shot upward to lock with his and she seemed to be in a trance while she stared into his green orbs. Butterflys filled her stomach and her face started to flush as she wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. Why was she thinking about these things?

_Hormones_, her conscious answered with a simple shrug.

A few seconds later she shook the butterfly feeling out of her stomach and smiled at Val, apologizing again and heading out of the bathroom. Bennie raised an eyebrow at her flush as she walked into the room and he smirked at her from across the room where he stood in a pair of jeans and no shirt. He, too, had a tattoo of a tiger, but his was on his right shoulder blade. He was smirking at her knowingly as if he had read her thoughts.

"Fuck you." she told him before turning away.

Maggie was greeted by the voices of some of her favorite friends and smiled to all of them. She gave high fives to Steve and Soda who were yet again playing poker. They never got tired of that game! She nodded to Darry, only giving him a once over before sitting down on the couch. Pete, Val, and Bennie walked in after her. Val took the seat next to her while Pete and Bennie joined in on Soda and Steve's poker game.

Two Bit, as usual, had a beer in his hand and was sitting in front of the t.v., watching Mickey and eating chocolate cake. She shook her head down at him and he shrugged. He was going to be drunk before long. Pony and Johnny sat at the table in the dinning room, doing God knows what.

"You must be Val then?" Soda asked as she looked up from his cards, giving Steve the perfect chance to look at them. Maggie sniffled her laughter and looked over at Val as he nodded his head. Soda turned back suddenly, making Steve snap his head back to act like he was being innocent. Soda gave him a wary glance before turning back to his cards.

"You guys always watch Mickey Mouse in this house?" Val whispered in her ear. She smiled and nodded up at him.

"He's obsessed with it." Maggie explained as she pointed to Two Bit. Val nodded again and let out a forced chuckle. Maggie removed Val's arm from her shoulders and got up, walking into the kitchen and hugging Johnny from behind.

"Hi ya, squirt." she told him while sitting down beside him. He was still blushing from the hug that she had just given him. She laughed and looked at what they were doing. Pony sat with a book in front of him, Gone with the Wind, and from the looks of it, he had been reading it to Johnny.

Pony looked up at her as if to ask her if she needed something and she shook her head.

"Maggie, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" a strong, deep voice asked. Maggie looked up, her eyes instantly narrowing as she looked into Darry's icy eyes. She nodded and followed him as he lead the way. It was silent for a few moments, Darry deciding what he wanted to say and Maggie waiting for him to say it. He took a deep breathe and Maggie looked at him expectingly her arms crossed over her chest.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't really mean to upset you so much. And I'm sorry for all the things I said. I just worry about you is all. I mean, you're like Pony and Soda. You're like my younger sister. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you." he explained to her finally, not able to make eye contact with her.

"Darry, look at me." Maggie pleaded. When he looked up, she continued, "It's ok, Superman. I understand your worry. I just wish you would back off a bit sometimes. You can worry, just don't smother me!" she told him, her eyes soft and sincere. He nodded and smiled softly at her before pulling her into a hug.

About two hours later all 10 of them sat around the small t.v, watching a cheesy version of Frankenstein. Maggie had been shoved into Val's lap to make more room on the couch. Bennie and Pete sat on the floor below them and Steve sat right beside Val with Soda next to him. Pony and Johnny sat hunched together in a dark corner and Darry was still occupying the chair. Two Bit was right smack dab in the middle of the t.v, his mouth opened as he watched. Maggie would have laughed at him, but she was too busy listening to Val's heart as it beat in his chest. Her left ear was pressed right up against it, one hand resting on his thigh and the other resting on the arm rest. One of his arms was wrapped around her middle and the other was right beside her hand on his thigh, his head resting on top of her head. They had been like this ever since the movie started. Maggie was enjoying the warmth that was radiating off of him and Val just sat below her, as calm as could be.

Two Bit howled with laughter as Frankenstein through someone down a flight of stairs, the sound of his voice drowned out the sound of someone entering the house and slamming the door behind them. They didn't realize that Dally was in the house until he flicked on the lights and stared at all of them, his eyes full of fire. He wasn't drunk at all, actually he was quite sober. Maggie's breathe seemed to catch in her throat and she wished she could disappear into Val.

Tension seemed to fill the room like someone filling a glass of water and no one said a word. A scream from the t.v filled the room but still no one moved. Dallas glared at Maggie, taking notice the way she was sitting in Val's lap. Maggie just glared strait back, her stubborn side taking hold of her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Dallas asked just as the credits stopped and the movie ended. Their was a slight fuzzy sound before the national anthem begun to play.

"Watching a movie." Maggie answered simply before turning to glare at the rest of the gang. They shrugged at her, not sure why he was even there.

"Let's go outside for a smoke." Val whispered into her ear. She nodded back at him and got to her feet, helping him up.

Val pushed his light brown hair out of his eyes as he made his way towards the door, holding Maggie's hand and leading her outside. He glared at Dallas as he passed him and then shoved Maggie out the door. She was really tense and he wanted to calm her down.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and handed her one. He light it for her before lighting his own and leaning up against the house.

"Asshole." Maggie muttered under her breathe. "I mean god! He does that on purpose you know? He angers me for his own amusement. I can't stand him!" she shrieked finally, waving her arms angrily.

"Calm down." Val said, his voice low. Maggie knew it was a command and not a request but she ignored it.

"I swear if I was taller I would have beaten him up a long time ago. That asshole as no right to control my life. I'm 16! I'm old enough to take care of myself! He thinks he can-" Maggie was cut of my Val pushing her roughly to the side of his house. She watched him as he glared at her, his weed at the corner of his mouth. His light green eyes seemed to glint in the mood light, almost making him look like he was evil or something. She had a huge urge to reach up and run her hands through his silky brown hair but she held back and stared into his eyes instead.

She brushed her blond hair out of her eyes and looked to the ground, her anger suddenly leaving her and being replaced by a deep red blush as thoughts of what it would feel like to kiss him came flooding through her head for the second time that day.

The air around them seemed to build up with electricity and Maggie was suddenly reminded off her last night with Dallas. Their kiss. She tried to shove by Val so she could get away from him. So she could run away from him. But he held her firmly in place with one hand on her stomach. She looked up at him again, her eyes searching his for answers. When she found nothing she looked down again and chose to lean against the house. Her leg bent at the knee and she rested her foot flat against the house, not caring if it made a print. She took in a deep breath and let the cool and fresh air calm her. Her eyes slid shut and she thought about exactly what she was doing here. She loved Tulsa, more then anything, but she was starting to love New York and the people in it just as much.

She couldn't stop the confusion that forced its way into her mind and she had a dull feeling that she was going to have to choose who she belonged with in the end. She pushed it aside and took another breathe. Could she really leave the Tulsa gang? Could she really leave the Tigers?

She opened her eyes and looked at Val again, realizing what she must look like she blushed again and looked down. His fingers caught her chin and brought her face gently back up so she was craning her neck and looking at him. His eyes glinted in the light again and she shivered. Thinking she was cold he moved closer, his hard chest pressing against hers. She took in shaking breathe and tried to shake off the tingling feelings that filled her thoughts and body. She blinked, trying to decide whether Val was moving closer to her or if it was her imagination playing tricks on her. She realized after a few seconds that it was the first. His lips seemed to part a bit and she shivered again.

_**(Kind of graphic part up ahead)**_

She slowly began to close the gap between them, her eyes locked on his. She moved closer and closer until she could feel his breath on her mouth, lingering with hers.

He closed the last few centimeters and his lips pressed softly against hers. It was as if she was in a dream as she pressed even closer to her, coming to rest right up against her on the other side of her bent leg. She moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him as close as she could manage. He leaned into her, pressing his body firmly against hers. She could feel every inch of him and it only made her moan again. She could feel him smiling against her lips but she didn't care.

This felt so right. She didn't have any doubts like she did with Dallas. It was just her and Val. She felt like she belonged there, in his arms. He slowly slid his tounge out of his mouth and ran it along her bottom lip, asking for entry. She granted it and parted her lips, meeting his tounge with her own with a soft caress. She slipped her hands up his beater and ran her finger nails softly down his bare back, knowing it would send shocking little tingles all the way through his body. He moaned into her lips and deepened the kiss even more. He pulled back unexpectedly and she whimpered. She tried to pull him back but he resisted.

"Don't." he managed to say. "Too fast." he let out a shaky sigh, one hand coming to rest on her hip and the other one leaning against the house above her head. His hand gripped her hip roughly, as if he needed it to hold him up.

"How can it be too fast if it feels so right?" she asked him, pulling her hands out of his shirt and leaning up against his chest, listening to his fast beating heart again. She could feel him panting as she leaned into her again and she hugged him closer. Was this where she belong? Here? In Val's arms? She had no objections if it was.

She tried desperately to ignore the yelling that came from inside and instead focused on listening to Val's heartbeat, her eyes slipping closed again. Val pulled away suddenly and put space between them. Maggie stumbled but caught herself before she could fall.

"This isn't right." he said suddenly, his voice was hoarse and had a sharp edge to it. It cut her like a knife.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, trying to reach out for him. He jerked back.

"This isn't right." he repeated again. "You're 16. I'm 19. This isn't right. I should be taking care of you not..not making out with you. This can't happen." he said, his voice was urgent as he explained it to her.

"But it is right. It is." she pleaded with him. She didn't know why but tears were starting to form in her eyes and spill down her cheeks.

"No, its not." he said firmly and harshly. Her body shook with silent sobs as she nodded and walked back into the house. She felt numb again. She didn't know what to feel. She was awake but she felt like she was some where else, like in a dream. She walked into the room. Dallas had taken Val's spot on the couch. Maggie walked to Steve, trails of her tears evident on her cheeks. She asked him with her eyes if she could sit on him instead and nodded, pulling her down by her wrist. She settled into him, trying her hardest to hold back her tears as the whole gang looked at her.

"It'll be ok." Steve whispered in her ear, as if he had been outside when everything went down. He reached a hand up and brushed her tears away before hugging her from behind and giving her a reassuring smile over her shoulder. She smiled sadly at him, her body still numb.

She couldn't think at all. Val's words just kept repeating themselves over and over and over again in her head. It was as if they were a broken record that wouldn't stop playing. It hurt her even more each time she heard it, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Was he right? Was it wrong to have a relationship with him?

She shook it off after 15 minutes of silent thinking and leaned back into Steve's chest. She was suddenly exhausted. She had, basically, been dumped by 2 guys in over 2 days. She was emotionally and physically exhausted and she didn't to protest as the darkness took over her.

**IMPORTANT NOTE FOR REVIEWERS:**

**Now that that chapter is over and done with I just wanted to give a quick shout out to all my reviewers. I love all of you guys and I'm so happy that we are almost to 100 reviews! At first I thought this story wasn't going to go as well as the first one but you guys are quickly making me look like an idiot lol (meaning this story is doing well). So this chappy goes out to all of you guys who have stuck with me through the first and second story. I'm really lucky to have you guys to boost my confidence and to keep me writing!**


	13. Grrr!

Maggie laid on the old green couch in the room at Buck's. Her breath was coming in short little rasps and it was nearly 4:00 in the morning, but she still couldn't seem to fall asleep. She sighed softly as she listened to the 3 guys in the room snore loudly. She had gone back to Buck's with them after the Curtis' had went to bed but she hadn't spoken a word to Val. Pete and Bennie had no idea what was going on between the two and filled the silence with random arguments about this and that. But Maggie was grateful.

She couldn't get her mind off of Val. She was still trying to piece together what he had meant. Was it really that wrong? Was liking him really that wrong? She flipped over on the couch and buried her head in the cushion for a moment, growling to herself in anger. If only she could just relax and get her mind off of everything else she would be able to fall sleep. The sun would be coming up soon which meant Val, Bennie, and Pete would be getting up around nine. Which left her 5 hours of sleep if she _could _fall asleep. But sleep didn't seem to be coming to her which left her to toss and turn.

She let out a little whimper and turned to look up at the water stained ceiling. She could feel her heart beating in her chest and she couldn't believe it wasn't broken. She had been through so much in the past 3 days now that she was surprised she even still _had_ a heart. Let alone a beating one. She shot up without thinking. She was still thinking about Val and every time she even thought about the kiss she would get little tingles all over her body. Oh how she wished she could jump into that bed right now and snuggle right up to him.

She didn't even know where these feelings had come from. She was guessing that they had already been there for a while but had just decided to rear its ugly head yesterday. She quickly cursed her feelings for making her look like an idiot before she climbed over Bennie on the floor and walked out of the room. Her feet made little padding sounds on the old wooden floor as she headed down the stairs and out into the dew covered grass. She shivered when her bare feet started to get covered with water but she walked on. She just couldn't stand to be couped up inside that room with 3 snoring boys right now. She didn't have the nerves to do it or the patience.

She sighed heavily and plopped down in the wet grass, immediately starting to shiver as her pajama pants started to soak. She didn't care if she caught a cold she just wanted some alone time to think. She curled herself up, bringing her legs to her chest and then resting her chin in between her knees. Her mind was running at about a thousand miles per second and she couldn't seem to slow it down. Memories, thoughts, heartache. It was all mixed into one and she couldn't seem to sort out one from the other. It was all a big jumble in her mind.

"What're you doing out here?" Maggie's heart skipped a beat as soon as the tired voice reached her ears. She whipped her head around to see Val shirtless and rubbing his tired eyes with calloused hands. She opened her mouth to retort but the words didn't seem to come out. She closed it, only to open it a few seconds later.

"I could ask you the same thing." she blurted out without thinking. She closed her mouth quickly, reddening when she realized her voice had come out high pitched and nervous. She turned back around, facing the rising sun again.

Why couldn't she get a few moments of peace? A few moments for thinking?

Before Maggie knew it Val had sat down next to her, his long legs stretching out and his hands coming to rest on his knees. She tried not to pay attention to the muscles rippling in his arms and torso, but it was a little hard.

What was he doing here anyway? He had ended things before they had even started. Her ached from even thinking about it and she willed the thought away.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" he asked a few minutes later, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them.

"No." Maggie admitted, her voice small. She could see Val nod his head out of the corner of her eye, but chose to ignore it.

"Me neither." he admitted also. It was her turn to nod this time, even though her heart was beating at about a thousand miles per hour.

"Why not?" she managed to ask as she picked at the grass in front of her.

"I think you know the answer to that question." was his quick reply. Maggie's head snapped up and her hand stopped in mid picking motion. Her mouth hung slightly agape as she looked up at him from her slumped form. He looked down at her, his eyes unwavering. It was almost like he was taunting her, daring her to say something. She shivered and looked away quickly. She almost made the mistake of starting to hope that he would take everything back, but she stopped herself before she could even get started.

"I better get in and take a shower. The rest of the guys will be waking up soon." her voice was some what cold as she said it, but she felt like she was floating above her body. She still didn't know what to think. Didn't know what to do. She could talk to him about it and ask him what was going on. But that would be risking her own feelings. Which she had already done too much by now. She unraveled herself from her ball and stood up, her pants sticking to the back of her legs. She headed in without a word and without a sound, leaving Val there by himself on the grass.

She was tempted to cry and she was tempted to run back to him and kiss the hell out of him, but she did neither. Instead she kept on her way, taking her steps one by one until she got to the staircase, in which case she took it two by two. (hehe)

"Why the hell are you all wet?" Maggie groaned loudly and stepped up the last step before looking up. Dallas was the last thing she needed right now.

"None of your business, Winston." Maggie snapped back, rubbing her temples with her finger tips.

"Bitchy much?" he retorted, taking a step towards her.

"Yes!" she hissed out while trying to pass him. He stepped in front of her of course and she was actually tempted to throw him down the stairs.

But she didn't.

Where was all this hostility coming from, lately?

"Move, Winston!" she growled, or somewhat growled, half of it would be considered a whimper.

"What's wrong?" Dally asked suddenly, going from mean to serious in seconds. Maggie sighed heavily and shoved his chest, trying to get him to move, but it was no use.

"Please move, Dally. I can't handle this right now!" she pleaded finally, hoping being nice to him would get him to move.

"Problem, Winston?" a new voice rang out. Maggie groaned again and closed her eyes, silently wishing that this was not happening.

"I don't know, is there?" Dally retorted to Val. Maggie swore she could slice through the tension with a butter knife as Val got closer to Dal.

"There's no problem. Now the both of you can shut up and go on your separate ways." Maggie snapped stepping in between Val and Dal before they could go at it.

It didn't do any good.

She ended up sandwiched in between two, at least 6 foot tall, muscular guys, that were very angry. She could barely breathe and to top it off she was panicking.

"Would you guys please not do this?" Maggie pleaded, squirming as the two guys got even closer and her lung capacity became smaller.

"Do what?" Val asked innocently, not taking his eyes off of Dally as he said it.

"This!" Maggie snapped back with a growl. She stomped her foot childishly, not knowing what to do with herself right now. Not knowing what to do with anything going on in her life.

"Screw it!" she said finally, throwing her hands up and pushing the two guys away from her. She ran past Dal and closed the door to the room before anyone could follow her. She stomped over to her bag, grabbed some random clothes and stomped back to the bathroom before Val could come back into the room. She could feel the hot burn of tears as they sprung into her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She refused to let life get the best of her. She had been through much worse then this and she got through all of it. So she could get through this.

She turned the knobs on the shower before undressing and hopping in. The steam wrapped around her like a hot blanket and she welcomed it with open arms. It was almost like she was dreaming or asleep. She didn't have to think, her mind just went blank. She stood there, letting the water beat down on her back and relaxed, letting her mind wonder off and her muscles go weak. Oh how she wished she could stay there all day. But she knew she couldn't.

She wrapped herself up in a towel about 10 minutes later and stepped out. Water dripped off of her leg and she shivered as cold air met her on the other side of the shower certain. She rummaged through her clothes to see what she had grabbed and cursed when she found she had actually forgotten a pair of underwear.

There was only one choice.

She had to go out and get some.

She sighed heavily and wrapped her towel even tighter before opening the door a crack and taking a glance around the room. She found Bennie and Pete in the same places they had been and quickly hurried out the door and into the main bedroom. She shivered even more and goosebumps rose on her arms. She stepped over Bennie and headed towards the table where her bag sat. She tucked the corner of her towel under her arm so she could use her arms freely and then started rummaging through her back.

"Ah!" she whispered to herself as she snatched up the pair of underwear at the bottom of her bag. She smiled to herself before closing the flap on her bag and turning around.

_Oh, shit,_ she thought as she stopped dead in her tracks. She gulped slowly, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of red, almost maroon.

Val was standing in front of her and she was only in a towel...with a pair of red underwear in her hand no less. She gulped again, trying to look like she wasn't in a really awkward situation.

_Please don't let my towel fall, please don't let my towel fall..._

She laughed nervously and looked up at Val, who now had on a pair of jeans and boots. He looked like he was in the process of getting dressed.

"How long have you been standing there?" she whispered to him, her face still maroon. He shrugged and she could tell he was trying to hide and smirk. She shook her head and started towards the bathroom again, stepping over Bennie. She glanced quickly at Val as she started to pass him, to find him watching her.

"You smell good." he said as he grabbed her arm and stopped her in her tracks.

She turned around to face him, her heart beating even faster then it had been a while ago. She gulped again and shrugged. "I did just get out of the shower." she answered. She shivered as his hand ran up her wet arm, tracing over her goosebumps. She turned around to face him, her his meeting the middle of his pecks. She slowly trailed them upwards until she met his eyes.

She realized, with must enthusiasm, that they looked like they had last night...right before he had kissed her.

His hand continued to trail upwards until it reached the nape of her neck and then from there he grabbed a handful of her hair gently. She could feel the water dripping from her hair and onto his hand and shivered again. He was so close...

She looked down, her hopes were starting to rise, the exact same thing she didn't want to happen was happening.

Her eyes went back up and met with his against her will, but she didn't look away again. They staid like that. His hand in her hair, their eyes locked. Maggie realized after a few minutes that to random on lookers, or Pete and Bennie for that matter, would think that something really strange was going on, which only made her blush deepen. She could feel Val's chest rumble as he laughed at her and she smiled up at him...but he wasn't smiling.

Maggie stopped smiling when she felt Val's hand tighten in her hair. She gave him a questioning look but was cut off when he pulled her to him. She fell against his hard chest and his lips crashed onto hers patiently. She whimpered, unprepared, but finally melted into it. Her wet hands trailed up his chest and wrapped them selves around his neck. She knew she shouldn't have but she couldn't stop herself. The feeling he gave her was just so great...

Val pulled away suddenly, making Maggie stumble forward.

"Let me guess." she interrupted him, breathless. "You shouldn't be doing this." she finished for him. He looked down at her with sad eyes and nodded. She nodded also, disappointed and almost in tears.

"I get." she said, even though she didn't. She didn't get it at all. Why was he doing this to her if he thought it was wrong all along? But he was still leading her on and still doing this to her.

She rushed back to the bathroom, after picking up the underwear she had dropped, and sat down on the toilet. She buried her head in her hands...and cried.

Maggie stood on the Shepard's front porch about 20 minutes later. She had stepped into close, brushed her hair and teeth, and applied make up, but she was sure, now, that all of her makeup had been washed away.

She wiped at her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time as she knocked on the door. She wasn't for sure if anyone would be up yet. She had been tempted to go in, but for some reason she had stopped herself. She was in dire need of a talk with her friend Angela and she needed it now. She couldn't handle her own thoughts anymore. She needed someone to talk to and the only girl friend she had was Angela.

"What?" a voice snapped before the door was thrown open.

"Mr. Shepard." Maggie greeted coldly before stepping around him. She had hated the guy ever since she had met him. He was worse then any other father she had met before and she didn't blame any of the Shepard kids for being as mean as they were, anymore.

She headed up the stairs, her heart itching to relieve all of her pent up emotions. She took the stairs two at a time, still wiping at her eyes, and finally reached Angel's room. Which was of course closed. She opened it just a crack to make sure that Angel was the only one in the room before she threw it open the rest of the way and closed it behind her. The room was pitch black with curtains drawn over the windows. Maggie knew that it was because half of the time Angel had a hang over and the sun bothered her.

"Angel?" she questioned as she stepped towards the bed, hoping she didn't trip over anything.

"Go away!" was the muffled reply.

"I can't!" Maggie snapped. "I need to talk to you." she pleaded.

"Who is it anyway?" another muffled reply. Maggie laughed coldly. Angel definitely had a hang over.

"It's Maggie." Maggie answered.

"Ok, ok. Turn on the light." Angel answered. Maggie nodded even though Angel couldn't see her and headed back towards the door where she flipped on the light.

"What's so important?" Angel asked as she shielded her eyes with a pillow. Maggie sighed heavily before launching into all the details of everything that had happened so far. Explaining about Val, and Dal, and Steve and everybody else. Her eyes would occasionally tear up but she would wipe it away and go on. Angel listened contently, despite her head ache, and Maggie was forever greetful.

"You know what you need?" Angel said when Maggie was done explaining.

"What?" Maggie asked with a suspicious smile.

"A party at Buck's. He's having a really big one tonight. I can't believe you didn't hear about it." Angel answered with a surprised looked. Maggie shrugged and smiled slowly.

"Well, anyway. We're going to dress you up and make you look really hot. And then we're going to show this Val guy what he's missing!" Angel explained, clapping her hands excitedly. Maggie laughed and wiped her eyes again.

"What do you say?" Angel urged. Maggie nodded slowly. What else did she have to do?

Angel shrieked excitedly and hopped off of the bed, her head ache forgotten as she head to her closet and started rummaging through her belongings. Angel muttered to herself every now and then and cursed a few times here or there.

"Hey, Angel, I'm going to go get a glass of water." Maggie called out to her. Maggie headed towards the door and stepped out, closing the door behind her. She headed down the stairs slowly. She felt a lot better then she had. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, but she still had a lot of tough problems to sort out. Just thinking about it made more tears spring to her eyes and she brushed them away, yet again.

She sighed heavily as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet before filling it up with some water. She leaned on the counter as she drank half the glass. She set the glass back on the counter and slowly turned around, jumping when she caught sight of Tim leaning on the doorway.

"What're you doing here?" she asked him, crossing her arms over her chest self consciously.

"It's my house." he answered back coldly. Maggie nodded back slowly, seeing his point.

"Right then." she answered finally, avoiding eye contact with him.

"You look like shit." he said a few moments later. Maggie looked up at him sharply with a glare.

"Thanks." she said sarcastically.

"No problem." he answered, finally stepping away from the door frame and coming into the kitchen.

Maggie shook her head slowly to herself before pushing off the counter and heading back out of the kitchen, wishing things weren't so weird between her and Tim anymore. They had both moved on to different things, but things were still weird, and Maggie regretted it.

She took the steps two at a time again and finally ended up back in Angel's room. Angel sat on her bed, tapping her bare foot impatiently as she waited for Maggie.

Maggie let out a laugh at the picture before walking further into the room to look at the outfit Angel had picked out for her.

"Are you sure?" Maggie asked hesitantly as she looked down at the black mini skirt and small white tee shirt Angel had picked out for her. Angel's face spread into a wide smile as she nodded her head and laughed.

"Definitely!" she insisted. Maggie laughed and nodded slowly before letting Angel drag her to the bathroom. Angel persisted in doing her hair and then her makeup. By the time Maggie was done she was all decked out with strait hair, very light but pretty make up, and a HOT outfit...or so Angel said. Maggie, though, was not so comfortable with it. But she didn't say anything. Instead she followed Angel down the stairs and out to her brother's car. Tim gave her a few un-needed glances in the car as he drove them to Buck's but Maggie tried to act normal.

The only thing that was one her mind though, was Val and getting him to notice her. She knew, somehow, that he would be at Buck's tonight. She groaned inwardly at the sick, butterfly feeling she got in her stomach and willed it away. But she knew it wouldn't stop.

Because she knew she really really liked Val.


	14. Ahhh!

Maggie walked self consciously towards Buck's house, Angel going on about this and that beside her. Her hands shook as she wrung them in front of her. She still couldn't believe Angel had gotten her into this tiny black skirt and this boob hugging shirt! She was in shock of it all.

Not to mention...Well, you know when they say you'll do anything for love? It was one of those situations. And it was scary for Maggie. Was this really love? And would she really do anything for it?

Her stomach tossed at the thought of it. The only person she had actually done anything for in the last couple of years had been Dally. And look how that had turned out. But then again, its not like she actually loved Dally either. Well, maybe as a brother...she still wasn't sure where she stood on that situation. She shook her head and groaned as her stomach gave another toss.

"Do I have to?" she whined to Angel, stopping right in front of the door to Buck's.

"Yes you have to." Angel snapped back as she grabbed the door handle and wrenched the door open. The night air filled with smoke and the sound of blasting music and Maggie's stomach gave another unwanted toss. She felt like she could throw up at any minute and she hadn't even had anything to drink yet. This was a bad sign...a very bad sign!

Angel shoved her unexpectedly and she stumbled forward, landing with a thump against someone just inside the door.

"Sorry." she apologized unemotionally before turning around to glare at Angel.

She giggled and Maggie's glare only deepened.

"Let's get a drink." Angel pleaded as she pulled Maggie towards the kitchen.

"I don't want to drink." Maggie protested, knowing that it would only make her upset stomach even worse.

"Fine. I'll be back in a second." Angel said in a huff as she crossed her arms over her chest and took off towards the kitchen. The only problem was that Maggie knew Angel wouldn't be back. She'd find some guy to have fun with and leave Maggie all by herself.

"Ah." a voice sighed from behind her about 5 minutes later. "Let's go." Maggie turned around to come face to face with...Tim's chest!

"Hey...Tim." Maggie greeted him slowly, not sure why he wasn't already partying like usual.

"You looked a little lost." he explained as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started to lead her over towards the poker tables. Maggie gave him a questioning look but let him lead her anyway. She really was lost. She had come here to make Val mad, but now she just wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Angel had left her after all and she hardly had enough courage to do it anymore.

She sat down with a thud in a near by chair and stared at the group of boys in front of her. A few seconds later Tim pulled her back up again and then pulled her back down again, this time on top of his lap. She had known this position for a while now. Tim always liked to be on the bottom.

She crossed her arms and leaned onto the green velvety table, her eyes staring at each guy, sizing them up as she had been taught. It was Steve of course who had taught her and he always said to look into their eyes, that way you know if they have the courage and the guilt complex to lie. Which most greasers did. So, almost every time she never really did find anything in their eyes. Unless she was playing Pony or Soda or something. That was about it.

Maggie sighed, deciding to give up on her staring match and leaned back against Tim's chest, her stomach was still pounding and threatening to spew its contents all over the table but she shrugged it off. She knew, or was hoping, that it was just nerves.

She ignored the shatter of the table as she scanned the room, waving to the occasional person she caught a glimpse of. She had even found Steve in the middle of the room, dancing with some girl she didn't even know. Her stomach gave a toss and she groaned to herself and looked away.

"You ok?" Tim asked as he placed a hand on her back and rubbed gently. She nodded her head and leaned back a little more to see his cards. Tim had always been a decent card player, always. Well, at least since Maggie had known him anyway.

"Nice cards." she whispered in his ear as she scanned the room once more. Her stomach gave another unwanted toss as her eyes landed on just the person she had been wanting to see tonight. Now she could definitely throw up!

He was staring right at her with those cold eyes of his, not even flinching. It was kind of un-nerving, knowing that her jealousy plan was working and at the same time that she felt triumphant she felt guilt as well.

Maggie made a move to get up but was stopped by Tim's firm grip on her waist.

"Don't even think about moving!" he had told her playfully before pulling her back down to his lap. She smiled and held up her hands in mock surrender. She groaned mentally, knowing she would have to put up with stares all night if she staid seated on Tim's lap. She had no idea what to do now. She was stuck with feeling guilty and feeling glad at the same time. She wanted to get up and walk right over to him, apologize and pull him into a tight, passionate kiss. But she also wanted to stay on Tim's lap and milk this jealousy plan for all it was worth.

"Maggie!" someone yelled. Her head snapped in the other direction and her eyes landed on Steve. He was still in the middle of the dance floor but was making his way over now, a wide, cold smile on his face. She smiled back at him hesitantly and waited till he was in front of her to speak.

"What's up?" she asked him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Let's dance." he said simply, grabbing for her hand.

"I thought you weren't a dancer." Tim said in mock protectiveness.

"You know me." Steve answered back before pulling Maggie off of Tim's lap and then out to the dance floor. She laughed and shook her head at Tim before turning back towards Steve.

"You really want to dance or did you just not like me around Tim?" Maggie asked over the music. Steve shrugged, his signal that he wasn't going to answer. Maggie was going to guess that it was the latter one and couldn't help but feel proud that he was so protective.

Her smile widened as Steve pulled her close and started to dance to the beat of some stupid country song.

"What's up with the skirt?" he asked in her ear as they continued to dance.

"Angel made me do it!" she said a little too quickly. She could feel her face heating up. Just thinking about him telling Darry or something mad her fidget.

"Yeah, sure she did." Steve said with a laugh before spinning her a couple of times. Maggie laughed and swatted at him.

"What happened to that girl you were dancing with before?" she asked as she looked around the crowd. She was almost for sure that some girl was going to be charging her for "dancing with her man". It had happened before and she wouldn't take the chance of being caught off guard.

"I don't know. I left her." Steve answered with a serious face.

"You're mean." Maggie said simply as she looked around the crowd again. She waved and winked at Tim who was still occupied in his game before scanning the rest. Her eyes caught those familiar green ones again and she winced. His eyes burned holes through her skin but she couldn't pull away.

She didn't have to though, because Steve twirled her again and made her face the other direction.

"Don't you know your supposed to pay attention to your dance partner when dancing." he mocked. Maggie snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him, not fully comprehending what he had said.

"Oh..." she said finally and then trailed off. "Yeah." she agreed. Steve gave her an odd look and raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?" he asked, looking her over from head to two as if she had just been shot or something.

"No." she answered quickly with a shake of her head. Steve only snorted and shook his head as if to say he didn't believe her, but he dropped the subject quickly and went back to dancing.

"No!" Steve said suddenly. Maggie jumped and turned around to look at what had gotten Steve so uptight.

"No." Steve said again, shaking his head at Tim.

"Come on, Steve." Tim pleaded, holding his hand out to Maggie. Maggie laughed. The two were actually mock fighting over her.

"Get your own box." Steve joked, swatting Tim away.

"How about you share the _box_." Maggie snapped playfully with another laugh. "I'm sure you can find that girl around here somewhere Steve. But you have to share me."

Steve groaned but let her go anyway and Tim smiled before grabbing her hand. He swung her into him and she smiled.

"Did ya win?" she asked as he settled in close to her.

He nodded slowly, "Always."

She gave a snort and stuck her tounge out at the stupid Hank song playing.

This night was going a little bit better then she had hoped. She figured after Angel left her she would end up on the couch drinking alone or something. Obviously that hadn't been the case. She was happy about it, too. She seemed to be making Val jealous but that didn't really say much. He hadn't come over to check on her or anything. She couldn't exactly tell if that was a bad sign or a good sign. Or maybe he was keeping his distance so he didn't beat up Tim or something. The possibilities were endless and she didn't even know which one to believe. She sighed absent mindedly and gave Tim a small smile. He was talking, but she wasn't really listening. Her mind was on too many other things.

Now she felt bad. Tim had brightened her night up and she wasn't even paying attention to the guy.

"...but he go away ok. We're thinkin' about digging up a rumble between the new guys and us but were not so sure. They haven't jumped anybody since month." Tim finished. Maggie looked at him, curious now to what he was talking about before she tuned in.

"Wait. Now what?" he asked again. Tim sighed and shook his head knowingly.

"There's some gang from out of town that's been beatin' up on Tulsa greasers lately. Attacked a few of my guys last month. We might have a rumble comin' up."

"Huh." Maggie said. Her mind immediately snapping to what kind of outfit could actually beet up some of the Shepard hoods. This was just a little weird.

"How many guys do they use to jump?" Maggie asked, tightening her grip on Tim's white muscle shirt a bit.

"About 3." Tim answered in almost a growl. You could tell just talking about it pissed him off more and more by the minute and Maggie didn't know if she really wanted him to get into detail about it. She didn't want to deal with him while he was in a bad mood.

"You should talk to Darry about." she stated with a simple shrug, her calm attempt at cooling him down.

"I'm going to tomorrow." he answered with a firm nod.

"You're not going to like this." Tim said suddenly. Maggie gave him a questioning look.

"Like what?" she insisted.

"This." he said.

"Maggie." a strong voice said just a few seconds later. Maggie's eyes snapped shut and she found herself counting to five, wishing the voice would go away.

"Maggie!" the voice growled again. She gulped, knowing that she would have to open her eyes and face him.

"What?" she whispered. Her voice was shaky and she cursed herself for it. She hated showing weakness in front of Val.

"Can I talk to you?" he bit out venomously. Maggie stiffened and pulled Tim's arms away from her.

"I guess..." she answered before trailing off again. Val reached out and grabbed her arm roughly, just as Tim lurched forward to tackle him.

"It's ok." Maggie insisted as she looked at Tim. Tim stiffened but nodded anyway.

Val's grip tightened on her arm as she lead her towards the kitchen, where she knew they were going to fight.

"What in the bloody _hell _are you doing?" he yelled as he dropped her arm roughly.

"Dancing." she bit out just as loud.

"Yeah with every god damn guy here." he countered, throwing his arms up in dramatic motions to prove his point.

"If you call Tim and Steve the only guys here then you have serious counting issues." Maggie screamed, stomping her foot. Val moved towards her and Maggie took a cautious step back.

"If this is about this afternoon-" he started but was cut off.

"_Why does everything have to be about you?_" she lied loudly. "Maybe I just like dancing with my friends!" she lowered her voice a bit, but not by much.

"They're all I've got and now I'm not even allowed to dance with _them_? What am I _your _property now?" Val's eyes looked like they could pop out of his head at any minute and Maggie was shaking inside. She was actually afraid he was going to try something but she hoped to good he wouldn't.

Val punched his fist into the wall next to him and Maggie jumped with a little scream of fright. Everyone else rushed out of the kitchen, not even bothering to pick up their drinks they had come in for.

"I'm done, Maggie." Val said, his voice softer now.

"Then I'm done, too. All you ever do is push me away anyway." she agreed, even though her heart was breaking slowly.

"Fine." he yelled.

"_Fine_." she countered, slapping her hand on the counter before heading out the kitchen door like the devil was on her heels.

"Get back here." Val howled, but Maggie ignored him, quickly drowning out his voice with her own thoughts.

She shook with rage as she walked on, curses flying from her mouth every 2 seconds or so.

_The nerve of him_, she thought as she walked in the general direction of the Curtis'. She was so mad she could barely see strait. She was so mad that she couldn't even stop think about what they had both just said to each other.

She screamed loudly and kicked her heeled shoe against nothing in particular.

"You just wait, Val." she cursed him under her breathe. "I'm gonna-" she stopped suddenly as the hair on the back of her neck started to stand up. She kept walking though, knowing that it was probably a soc hiding in the shadows or something. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened. She walked cautiously on, pacing herself to give her mind to digest what could happen and what she would need to do.

If they were socs, she could probably take them on. And they probably were. So there was really nothing to worry about...right?

Her stomach flipped and she pressed her hand to it on instinct. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, watching for movements in the shadows.

Her breath caught in her throat as she finally caught something moving up a head. About 3 somethings. She couldn't make them out too well but there was something definitely hiding in the shadows. She was surprised she had seen them at all.

_Just socs_, she told herself as she took a deep breath. Her heels clicked on the road and she took to counting her steps.

She was getting closer to them now, a little too close for comfort and her brain started to fire off warning signs.

Maggie took in a deep shaky breath and scanned the area for some kind of alley to slip into, some way out. She knew there wasn't one, but for some odd reason she just felt like she should check anyway.

She growled in anger and kicked at a rock. She could turn around, but they would probably follow her anyway. So either way she was going to have to deal with them. She sighed and walked on, folding her arms over her stomach as if to keep it from rumbling.

She cursed Angel for making her wear a skirt tonight. Skirts were even harder to run in then high heels...well almost. She barely held back a shriek as the three figures jumped out in front of her but she gulped it down and stood up straiter, hoping to show some kind of dignity.

These guys were no socs like she had hoped. If they had been socs she could take them. But these guys, these guys were greasers. But they weren't from around here. They were too big and too mean looking. Even meaner then some of the guys she had seen in New York. Boy she missed that place right about now. She gulped again and tried to hold back pleas for her life. She was in deep shit.

"You really shouldn't walk alone." the first one to speak was always the leader. Always. He was the smallest one out of the group but also the most buff.

God she was so in for it.

"Who says I am?" she asked dangerously. She stepped back when they stepped forward and the leader chuckled.

"That." he answered coolly. She cursed herself for making that tiny mistake and tried to devise a plan.

Maybe one of the guys had been following her. Maybe Tim was walking up on them or maybe even Val. Or maybe Dally. She didn't really care who it was as long as they were there.

"God I'm gonna hate this." one of the other ones said.

"Hate what?" Maggie asked, her voice shaky. She knew it was a mistake but she figured she had better keep them talking, keep them stalled.

"Ruinin' your pretty face." he answered, right before she heard the click of a blade being opened. Not only were they big and mean...they had blades as well. Maggie tried not to break down in sobs as she backed away. This night was just not going her way.

"Listen..." she started but was cut off by all three guys running towards her. She gulped and did the only thing she could think of.

She ran towards Buck's yelling at the top of her lungs.


	15. Take Care of a Girl

**AUTHOR'S APOLOGY:**

**Wow. Boy am I sorry. No really. It took me so long to update! I know! And I'm sooo sorry. So as my apology I have made this up for you. This is a short but sweet chapter for all of you who love the Maggieness of this story and the irony of it all. Here's to you:D...Please don't kill me...**

"Tim! Val! Dal! Anyone!" Maggie howled as she ran as fast as she could. She could feel the straps of her heels cutting into the tops of her feet but she knew she couldn't stop. She was a couple of blocks away now and she had to get there. She would get there! Her breathing quickened as the idiots behind her sped up. She knew they were getting closer but she couldn't bring herself to stop and think. She was too scared.

"Shit!" she muttered to herself. She knew that no one inside could possibly hear her because of that stupid music and Buck's house was out in the middle of no where. She was basically on her own, which meant she had to make it to Buck's whether her body wanted her too or not.

She kicked off her heels finally and howled with hurt as her feet connected with jagged, large rocks. But it was better then those stupid straps, she told herself. She quickened her pace and sprinted towards the grassy area beside her where she could be in shadow and let her feet take a break from the rocks.

The only things she could hear were the sounds of her own breathing, the footsteps behind her, and the sound of the music from Buck's, which meant she had to be close.

"Tim! Dallas!" she tried again. She knew she was wasting her air by yelling, but she was so scared she didn't care. She whimpered as a twig stab into her foot and slowed down a bit to hop. Her skirt was starting to ride up her ass and her boobs were practically hanging out of her shirt now.

Don't stop, she urged herself.

She wanted to sigh when relief when Buck's house came into view, complete with neon signs and everything, and she was about to, it it hadn't been for that hard body that tackled her into the hard jagged rocks of the road.

"Ahh!" she cried out in pain as her body twisted and turned with about 180 pounds of guy on top of her. Her mouth slammed into the road and she immediately tasted dirt and blood. The two were a horrible mixture. She groaned as she was pushed onto her back, so she was facing up. But she could barely see out of her dirt covered face. She could feel the rocks that had embedded themselves in her hands and face and it only made her realize the pain she was actually experiencing. It was almost enough to make her pass out even now.

"God you're a hard bitch to catch. Thanks for breaking my fall by the way." the guy on top of her said. Maggie let out a loud cough and cringed as blood spewed out of her mouth.

Maggie turned her body slowly to try and get a glimpse of Buck's house.

Maybe, just maybe, if she was lucky enough someone would be coming out of it. Someone...anyone.

"Someone!" she howled again, praying she would be heard.

"Ahh!" she screamed as a hard kick was delivered to her side.

"Girls are such bitches around here." a new voice said. Maggie squinted her eyes upwards to see a new body standing above her. There were not only 3 boys, but 4 now, and they were all standing over her and an uncomforting circle.

She groaned and clutched at her ribs, pain shooting all over. She could feel the blood dripping from her face and mouth and her arms. She could feel the dirt mixing with the blood and sticking to her skin.

"Fuck it." she muttered to herself as she let her arms go limp. She was not going down without a fight. Not to these assholes.

"That was quick." the new voice said, thinking Maggie had fallen unconscious. "Pick her up." he instructed one of them. Maggie smiled inwardly. She was in pain, yes, she was damaged, yes, she probably had few cracked ribs, yes, she probably had a few broken bones, yes, but was she going down without a fight? HELL NO!

She felt arms started to wrap themselves around her middle and her eyes snapped open, her knee swinging up violently. She screamed inwardly with joy as he knee connected with a certain soft area that was very painful on a guy.

She pushed her captor off of her and made a sprint for it. Going in zigzag lines to try and throw them off on what direction she would go. Even though they probably already knew she was heading for the house, she didn't think about that at the time.

She could hear them behind her, cursing and running as fast as they could. She hoped against all hopes that she would get to that damn house.

She cursed Buck for having it out in the middle of no where as she got even closer. Her heart was pounded and her lungs felt like they were collapsing with every other inch she took, but she couldn't stop. She was on a mission.

She panted as she slowed her pace and threw herself up the stairs. She turned in one fluid motion and threw up her middle finger.

"Fuck you!" she screamed to the 4 boys rushing towards her, and then she fell through the screen of Buck's door, strait on her ass. She knew of course she would be safe there. Or, she hoped anyway. She wheezed as she pulled her self up, rocks making themselves known as they dug even further into her hands and arms. She needed so badly to wash her mouth out but she didn't have the time. She wanted Tim or Dally or Val to catch those assholes.

"Tim. Val. Dally." she yelled into the crowd as loud as her voice could allow her.

"What?" a gruff voice sounded. Maggie nearly broke into sobs as she quickly made her way to a surprisingly sober and shirtless Dally.

"Dally!" she said as she collapsed onto him. She could feel her blood smearing on his bare chest but she tried to ignore it.

"What the fuck happened?" he urged as he peeled her off of him to get a better look. "Jesus." he cursed, turning her head from side to side.

"Let's find, Tim." he said after a minute, not even waiting to hear her story.

They quickly approached the card table Tim was still seated at and Dal beckoned him over.

"What the hell happened?" Tim demanded as he stormed up and looking Maggie over.

"They jumped me." she tried to explain, but her words came out jumbled and soft.

"Who?" Tim urged her on.

"These 4 big guys. I think they were the guys you were talking about."

"What the fuck were you doing outside alone?" Steve berated her as she joined the conversation. She wanted to glare or curse at him but she was in too much pain.

"Val and me...we got in a fight." she tried to explain.

"Figures." she heard Steve mumble. "Where is the asshole?" he said louder.

"Fuck if I know." Maggie yelled before collapsing onto Tim.

"Men, don't they knew when they need to clean a girl up?" she snapped.


	16. I Heart You

**Author's Note (duh):**

**:D**

**What's up guys? I'm really sorry its taking me a while to update lately but before I start to tell you what I want to tell you I just want to say that the next chapter should be up sometime next week, maybe on Monday.**

**So I think probably most of you have heard of The Wrong Side of the Tracks Awards. And I just thought I let you all know that Season 3 has begun and that they are now accepting nominees. wink, wink**

**So I thought I'd let you know that, and if you have never heard of the awards before you can find a link in my profile.**

**Hey, maybe you guys could nominate me for some stuff for this story or Send The Pain Below wink,wink :D**


	17. This Hurts!

**Author's Note:**

**Well Over My Head is getting closer and closer to being finished. :(. The plot is advancing even more and the big shabang is about to happen. I'm estimating that there will prolly end up being around 23 chapters maybe. Maybe not. I'm not so sure yet. Enjoy:D**

Maggie's eyes snapped opened and she looked around the room quickly. Had she passed out? She was at Buck's, she could tell that much, the place was surprisingly silent. No music came from downstairs and no moans came from the room next to this one. What time was it?

She slowly tried to sit up, but groaned and stopped herself. Memories came flooding back and she cursed herself.

Why was she always the one that got jumped?

_Better me then Johnny_, she reminded herself as she turned her head around the room. A smirk found its way onto her lips at what she saw. 9 out of the 11 boys in the group were sprawled around the floor, with the exception of Steve who laid next to her on the bed, his mouth hanging open a bit and his once perfect hair hanging in his face.

For a couple of seconds everything almost seemed perfect. And then she remembered.

Tears found their way to her eyes and she wondered what she was supposed to do. She had told Val she was done with him last night but she didn't know if that was the truth. Was she really done with him?

A cough came from across the room and Maggie tilted her head up as far as it would go. She gave Dally a small smile and he grunted wearily back at her.

"Hang over?" she asked him quietly, hoping she wouldn't wake the rest of the gang.

"No. I stayed up all night so I could watch you." he said in a matter of fact tone. Maggie rolled her eyes.

"As if I need looking after." she countered. Dally's face broke out into a smirk as he pulled himself off of the floor.

"Looks to me like you do." he said, motioning to her arms and legs. She scowled at him and let out a few not so nice words, all in good fun. He chuckled softly and made his way over to her, sitting himself down on the bed. Maggie tried to reach up to smack him playfully but found she couldn't move her arms.

"I can't move my arms." she whined before looking down. She couldn't even see skin. Her arms were covered in bandages, goze, and tape.

"Yeah, Soda fixed ya up." Dallas said with a bit of a scowl.

"What do you mean? Why didn't Darry do it?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised.

"Cause he wasn't here to do it, and we couldn't find him." Dally explained. He gave her a look and she knew that was her signal to drop it.

"Is he home now?" she pressured, ignoring his looks.

"I don't know Maggie, nobody's been by the house. All of us are here." he said in an irritated voice.

Maggie scowled at him and plopped back down into her pillow, deciding to give her neck a rest.

"Get my mane(you know like a lions hair) out of my face will you?" she asked, referring to her long blond hair. Dally chuckled and reached up, moving her hair out of her face.

"Thanks." she said quietly. She was going to hate this...having to be token care of.

"So we got together with Tim and some of the Brumely boys and decided we're going to have-"

"A rumble." Maggie said at the same time as Dally. He nodded.

"...as soon as we find out who did it."

"What do you mean find out? You should already know. Tim said he had heard about the guys." Maggie snapped, looking at him with angry eyes. How could they not know the guys that did this?

"Yeah, well, no one seems to know them. Not even the guys they jumped." Dally said, his mouth set in a firm line.

"I don't want another rumble. I still can't forget the last one." Maggie mumbled.

"This one's different." Dallas insisted.

"How?" Maggie snapped. "These guys are even worse then socs. They jumped me without a second thought about it. Even socs have a bit more decency then that. These guys will probably bring chains and pipes and what not and I bet you more then one of them will have a blade or a heater!" Maggie explained, almost yelling.

"Calm down." Dallas snapped coldly.

"Screw you." Maggie countered, settling back into the pillow. "It'll never be different. A rumbles a rumble."

"Shut up." Steve growled from beside them, pulling a pillow over his face to drown out the noise.

"Oh go back to sleep!" Maggie snapped again, her bad mood progressing. She seethed as she tried to rearrange herself. She couldn't believe this.

She was stuck in this stupid bed for God knows how long with nothing to do and on top of that the guys were going to have to take care of her.

"Shut up." she muttered to herself.

"You goin' crazy?" Dally asked with a raised eyebrow. She could tell he was about to smirk.

"No!" she snapped again with a loud huff. "I'm just upset." she added.

"I can see that." he answered as he mocked Maggie with a stupid angry face.

"Go back to bed." she told him, holding back a smile.

"If you say so." he said as he climbed in next to her and pushed her towards Steve.

"I didn't mean get in my bed." she laughed as she watched him get under the covers. He chuckled and laid his head on her pillow right next to her own. She smiled at him and watched as he closed his eyes.

She couldn't help but hope he would fall asleep fast because she wanted some thinking time to herself. She wanted to decide once and for all what it was that made her feel this way and if she really did like Val or love him.

_There's a fine line between love and hate_, she reminded herself, thinking that maybe she hated him instead of loved him. She groaned inwardly. She was never going to figure this out at the rate she was going.

Why couldn't he just make things easier? Why couldn't he just flat out tell her what he felt or what he thought? Instead she was stuck wondering about what _she_ felt and what _she_ thought.

_It would be so much easier if he told me what he wanted_, she decided as she squirmed. She could tell Dally was fast asleep and smiled at the thought. She was stuck in between two of her favoritist guys in the whole world. It made her happy to know that she still had them. And that she probably would no matter what.

She shifted towards Steve a bit, letting his body warmth transfer to her. He was always warm and always nice to cuddle with. She sighed contently, hoping she could push everything with Val to the back of her mind for the time being. She was definitely in a bad situation, there was no other way of putting it.

"Where were you?" Maggie asked as she held her arms out to Darry 2 days later. He was going to take her bandages off and look over her wounds but she was taking this time to lecture him instead.

"Out." he snapped harshly, his voice low.

"Out?" Maggie repeated with a slight snarl. "Yeah, I'm sure you were." she added darkly, glaring at him. His head shot up to glare right back at her and she was almost tempted to look down, but she knew she had to stand her ground. She wasn't going to let him win this one, not this one.

"Look, Darry, I'm not saying you can't go out, but me and you both know this has got to stop. You're hiding some kind of liquor around here all the time. And you're always drinking it when you think one of us isn't looking. I wasn't even here for a year and I knew about it as soon as I got back."

"That's right, you weren't here for a year. So you mind your own business and I'll mind mine." Darry snapped again as he got up from his chair and stomped into the kitchen. She sighed heavily and let her shoulders slump down again. She hadn't meant to make him that mad, but sometimes she really couldn't help it. Soda and Pony and the rest of the gang really needed him to be strong. They needed him to be there whether he was strong or not.

_Maybe that's the problem_, she told herself as she sighed again.

"Hold out your arms." he said snidely as he sat back down in the chair in front of her, a snarl rested upon his features and Maggie was tempted to shrink away from him.

He sighed as he got to work, unwrapping the slightly yellow wrapping on her arms.

"Did you have to wrap her so tight, Soda?" he yelled to the younger boy as he unwound more and more.

"And you didn't even get all the rocks out. Not to mention there's not nearly enough ointment on this." he continued.

"Are you going to yell at me for everything I do wrong or are you going to stop now?" Soda yelled from the kitchen, followed but what sounded like a cabinet being slammed shut. Darry cursed slowly under his breath and grabbed Maggie's left arm a bit roughly.

"Ow." she simply stated, her signal for him to go easier on her.

"Shut up." he snapped as he took the lid off the ointment and started putting it on her cuts and scrapes.

"Ssss!" she hissed as a burning pain shot through her arm, she wiggled around, hoping to get out of Darry's grasp but he held firm.

"That hurts like hell!" she snapped at him, glaring at him the best she could.

"I know it does." he said with a smirk before picking up a needle from beside him.

"No!" she said, trying to pull away from him again.

"Yes." he said simply, the needle coming closer and closer to her arm.

"No!" she shrieked as she watched him.

"Hold still or I'll poke your eye out." Maggie let out a scared sigh and stopped squirming, closing her eyes tightly. She knew it was going to be even more painful then when Soda was digging on her arm last night, because this time she didn't have any alcohol to numb the pain.

"Ow!" she shrieked as her eyes popped open and pain surged through her arm. She thrashed around on the chair and he dug even deeper and then deeper still.

"What's all the racket?" someone yelled as they came into the house. Maggie tried to settle down, to look tough, but the pain was too much and she started to thrash again a few seconds later.

"Damn, Darry, ease up." the voice said again, the person finally emerging into the living room. Maggie scowled despite the pain and tried to say something to Darry, but ended up failing miserably.

"What are you doing here?" Soda's voice snapped as he emerged out of the kitchen.

"Looking for Maggie." Val stated easily as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well get out." Soda said just as easily as he pointed to the door.

"Why?" Val asked, an eyebrow raised as he looked towards Maggie.

"See that?" Soda walked towards Maggie and Darry and pointed to her arms. "That's your fault. You're lucky Steve's not here to beat your ass." Soda continued with a shake of his head.

"I'm not scared a him." Val said again, a scowl on his face.

"No?" another voice popped up.

"SHIT!" Maggie howled, half in anger and half in pain. Steve walked towards Val, a hateful look in his eyes.

"No." Val answered.

"Stop! The both of you." Darry said as he let up on her arm for a minute. Maggie took a deep breath and tried to force away the tears in her eyes.

"You done yet?" she urged Darry as she looked at him.

"Not even close." he answered, bring the needle back to her arm.

"Get me some beer. Or vodka, or something!" she yelled at the guys in the room before clenching her eyes closed again.

"Any of you even think about it I'll skin you alive." Darry countered, not even looking up.

"Oh shit, this hurts." Maggie whined.

"No, I'm not scared of you." Val continued when Maggie stopped yelling.

"You should be." Steve said as he walked even further towards him.

"I'm not." Val puffed up his chest a bit to make himself look bigger, and flicked the hair out of his eyes.

Steve snarled at him and made an advancement, but Darry cut in.

"What did I just say?" he yelled, his voice shaking the walls. "If you two are going to start shit then do it outside." he shook his head and went back to digging.

A few seconds later Steve, Val, and Soda were on their way out, taking Darry's advice.

"Darry, pleassseeee!" Maggie whined, trashing some more.

"Just wait till I poor the alcohol on it."


	18. The Plot Thickens

"Bitch!" the word flew out of her mouth with ease but she instantly regretted it and winced.

"Fuck you." Two Bit snapped back, a wide smirk on his face.

Maggie had just got done cussing him out for sitting on her legs, causing her great agony of course. And he had cussed right back at her, which caused an all out potty mouth war.

"You guys are both fucking idiots. Now shut up." Dally's chest rumbled underneath Maggie and she squirmed. She had been laying on his chest for the past 3 hours and he was now smoking a cigarette. She was actually kind of afraid he was going to light her hair on fire or something.

"Quit squirming." Dally snapped as he held her still by the shoulders. She sighed and leaned back into him, boredom once again taking over. She hated being couped up here with no knowledge of the outside world. No one told her anything anymore, afraid she would go mad about the whole rumble situation. She didn't even know if anyone had found the guys that had jumped her yet. That, of course, only angered her even more. She knew everyone in the gang had to be sick of her complaining by now but she wouldn't stop until someone told her what was going on.

She hadn't seen Val around in at least 2 days. Not since him and Steve had "taken it outside". She was a bit troubled but everyone else told her not to worry about it. Steve had come back in with a starting to swell eye and a split lip. She didn't know what to expect of Val.

"Dallas." she stated as she blew her hair out of her eyes.

"What?" he snapped, blowing smoke over her head. She waved it away with her hand and tried to look up at him.

"Why won't you guys tell me what's going on?" this had to be the fifth time she had asked in the past 3 hours and she could see the anger boiling up inside Dallas as he tried to keep it in check.

"Cause we're not, so quit asking." he stated coldly, taking a drink of the coke next to him. Maggie let a few curses fly under her breath and wished she could hit him right about now.

"You know, Dallas, I'm always stuck between hating you and loving you." Maggie bit back at him.

"There's a fine line between love and hate doll." a new voice said as someone new entered the house. Maggie lifted her head carefully off of Dally's chest and smiled easily at Eric, one of the new "leaders" of the Brumely boys. She hadn't actually met him before but Darry had told her he wasn't too bad of a guy.

"You're Eric I suppose?" she asked, her eyes watching him as she stepped over Two Bit and stuck his hand out to her.

"Yeah and you must be Maggie." he greeted. Her smile widened and she took his hand in a firm handshake.

"Darry!" Dally yelled down the hall, his chest rumbling against Maggie's back again. She squirmed and glared at him out of the corner of her eye.

"How you doin', Dal?" Eric greeted Dallas as his eyes searched the room, resting a few seconds longer on the pictures of the gang and of the family.

"Fine." Dal said as he him and Eric exchanged a look. Maggie guessed it was one of those 'we really need to go somewhere else' looks. She sighed, exasperated, and leaned up so Dallas could crawl from beneath her.

He nodded at Maggie as him and Eric retreated into what she could only guess would be Darry's room. Two Bit followed a few minutes afterwards, not able to keep his nose out of the so called business.

That left Maggie alone in the living room on the couch, looking like a dead potato. She sighed heavily and tried to twist into a better position but only proceeded in scratching her cuts on the rough fabric of the couch. She let out a shrill sigh and stopped moving, her eyes closed tightly shut as an attempt to hold in the pain.

After 2 days the stupid things hadn't even begun to close up and even the slightest pull of movement made her skin ache and whine with protest.

She just wanted to find those damn idiots. _And _she wished the stupid guys would share stuff with her. She hated everyone coming to the Curtis' to "converse" about the situation and keeping her in the dark about it the whole time. It just wasn't fair!

"Hey, Mags." Steve greeted as him and Soda walked through the front door.

"Hey." she said slowly as she tried to sit up. She gave up after a few seconds and stopped moving again, her arms falling limp at her sides.

"Hah." Soda laughed at her as he walked into the kitchen to get his regular glass of chocolate milk.

"Don't laugh at me." Maggie snapped, wishing she could swing at Soda's legs. She could still hear his laughter after he disappeared into the kitchen and she huffed with anger.

"Bad day?" Steve teased as he lifted her up and sat behind her. She snuggled her back into the warmth of his chest and closed her eyes.

"Long day." she corrected.

"How could it have been? You were couped up here all day." Soda joked again as he sat down in Darry's chair.

"You better be happy I can't move right now." Maggie threatened. Her eyes popped open and she continued to glare at Soda while carrying on a conversation with Steve.

"Oh, by the way, you guys are missing the council." Maggie said absent mindedly as if she didn't care about what was going on in the other room. She added a sigh though for dramatic affect and flashed Steve a smile. He grinned at her and shook his head.

"You go on, Soda, I'm gonna stay here." Steve coaxed his best friend as he wrapped his arms around Maggie's shoulders. Soda got up with a shake of his head and left Maggie and Steve alone in the living room. She snuggled even closer to his chest, if possible, and sighed with content.

"Don't get too comfortable." Dally's voice floated to her ears and she looked down the hall to see him coming her way.

"So what's going on?" she questioned him as she tried to turn her head all the way around without moving the rest of her body.

"We're still trying to catch the idiots. What do you thinks going on?" Dally let a few curses. "And that stupid idiot wants to use you as bait."

"You know that's not a bad idea." Maggie agreed with a nod of her head and a thoughtful look. Dallas glared at her and she had to suppress a giggle.

"It's a good idea." Eric yelled from Darry's room.

"No its not!" Steve and Dally yelled at the same time. Maggie sighed exasperatedly and collapsed back onto Steve's chest, giving up her questioning.

"Where's Tim when you need him?" he said to no one in particular.

"Maybe if you told me what's going on then you wouldn't have to have Tim." Maggie said sharply, not bothering to face him.

"You don't want to know." Dally said angrily.

"Try me!" she yelled back.

"They murdered a girl yesterday." he shot back slamming his fist into the wall.

Maggie gulped.

Had they seriously murdered a girl?

"Grease?" she squeaked out. Her voice didn't sound like her's at all and she thought maybe she hadn't spoken at all.

"Yeah." he answered. She nodded dumbly and stared off into space.

Could that have been her? Could they have murdered her just a few days ago?

Steve tensed underneath her as if listening to her thoughts.

"I'll do it you know." Maggie said finally, looking up at Dallas.

"No!" he said firmly, finalizing the argument.

Dallas paced the floor in the living room, muttering under his breath and hitting walls occasionally.

"What the fuck's going on?" Tim asked as he slammed through the door and stood in front of Dallas, his eyes glaring. His clothes and hair were disheveled and he had a bit of lip stick smeared on his neck. Maggie scowled and looked away hurriedly.

"Eric is trying to use Maggie as bait." Dallas yelled pointing his finger in the direction of Darry's room.

"Well that's stupid." Tim said calmly with a shake of his head, and then burst out laughing. Dallas glared at him.

"What the fuck is so funny?"

Maggie gulped again. Had they actually killed someone? That could have been her couldn't? She could have died. She found herself breathing heavily and wished she could make time stop. She just couldn't get over this.

"Come on, Maggie, let's get out of here." Steve urged over Dally's voice as he softly helped Maggie to her feet. Maggie nodded slowly to him and leaned on him as they walked together to the door.

She didn't want to stay here and watch as the "council" went ballistic. Actually, she was suddenly wishing that they had stuck to their guns and not told her anything about the current situation. She realized that Dally was actually right for once, she really didn't want to know.

She sighed and smiled slowly at Steve as she crawled into the passenger seat. She only had to glance at Steve to know where they were going. His secret spot. He had only told Maggie about it but she had never actually been there. She only knew that it was out in the country and he went there when he needed to cool off or if he needed time to think. She was glad he trusted her enough to actually take her there.

She stared out the window as silence filled the car and watched as they passed by the grease side and then through the soc side until they were finally in the country. The land grew green and a bit brown as they went on and a few trees lay here or there. Steve slowed the car a bit and turned down a rocky lane, a few rocks jumped up and hit the side of the car and Maggie winced, hoping the rocks hadn't dented his car. She loved his car with a passion, like it was her own. She sat straiter, almost like she was at attention as Steve made another left turn. They weren't on a road now, just flat dried grass. Trees stood on both sides of the car, leaves thick and green. She smiled a bit, happy to be out of the city for a short while. She hadn't ever been one to live in the country, but she liked to visit it once in a while.

Steve pulled over to the side of the little path and turned off the car with a sigh. Silence still filled the air as he leaned his head back against the cool leather and closed his eyes. Maggie could see all the tension and worry leave his face at once and she was in awe to see that he was at peace for the time being. A quiet smile filled her lips as she slowly turned around in her seat and crossed her legs in front of her.

"What would you say if I were to tell you that I'm in love with Val?" Maggie asked tentatively as she stared at Steve from the passengers side. Her voice seemed to shatter the air about ten minutes later and she cursed herself for ruining his peace. She frowned as she watched his head shoot up and turn to look at her. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite recognize and it scared her a bit. She could always read Steve. She knew him so well that they barely ever lied to each other. So what was this look in his eyes that she couldn't decipher?

"What's that look for?" she asked quietly, wondering he was going to say. The look quickly changed and he tore his gaze away from her's.

"I would say that you don't know what love is and that you need to rethink it before you do something stupid." he said, his voice as cold as ice. Maggie shivered at his harshness. A part of her said he was right, the other part didn't give a shit if he was right or not, just so long as she got Val in the end.

"Rethink it, Maggie. How could any girl love a bastard like that." he urged her. She shook her head, not wanting to believe him.

"How do you know Steve?" she asked him harshly, banging her fist on the dashboard. "What makes you so sure that I don't love him?"

"Because I know you, Maggie. I see the look in your eyes when you around him, and its not love. Passion maybe. Maybe even lust, but its not love." his voice was firm and his eyes held fast. He knew what he was talking about, she realized in dismay.

"Have you ever been in love, Steve?" she asked quietly as she stared at her black Converses. She was glad to have this cleared up now, but at the same time she was crushed. If she didn't love Val, then did that means he loved Dallas? She shook her head to herself, her eyes squinting with thought.

"Maybe. Maybe I am now." he muttered, his own eyes cast downwards. "I can't be for sure." he said louder this time. Maggie could tell that the first statement hadn't been meant for her ears. Her lips pressed tightly together as she ran it through her mind over and over and over again.

_Maybe. Maybe I am now. _

Was Steve in love? Was he not telling her that he was in love? Who was she? Had someone actually stolen the heart of The Steve Randle?

A sigh escaped her lips and she tried to shake off all the questions running through her mind.

"What?" she asked Steve, finally coming back to the present. She was just now realizing that Steve had been trying to talk to her and everything he had said had gone in one ear and out the other.

"Nevermind." he said with a laugh and a shake of his head.

Maggie gave Steve a fake smile and hoped he didn't know the difference. If he did notice he didn't say anything but turned back to looking out the window.

"I miss my parents you know." Steve said suddenly turning back to her.

"Yeah?" she asked sadly, thinking back to the time she had seen Steve's dad for the first time. She remember thinking about he was such a drunk and that he didn't deserve a son like Steve.

"Yeah, I do. I remember when I was little, how great they used to be. They actually used to take care of me and hug me once in a while. They didn't drink or pop pills back then." he shook his head, remembering. "Boy do I miss those days. My mother used to be the best cook around. Soda, Darry, and Pony would come over once in a while and we'd all pig out on my mum's cherry pie. I miss those days, you know?"

"Yeah, I do know." Maggie agreed with a slight nod. "It's hard. I'll admit to that much. I don't think I ever got over the day my parents died. I'm figuring that when Dal went into a coma and I'd broke down, that I was grieving for my parents and Dallas, all at the same time. It's like I shoved all the pain in the back of my head till the last possible moment." she sighed heavily and turned to look at Steve.

She still couldn't decipher that look.


	19. Oooooh!

Maggie tossed wildly in her sleep, her heart pounding and her hands entangled in her hair. Her breathing was fast and her eyes moved this way and that beneath her eye lids. She kicked out at the wall and her knee collided with it. The pain went unnoticed as she started to whimper in her sleep. Her hands pulled her hair as sweat trickled down her face and onto the white sheets of the pillow. This time it was her elbow that collided with the wall nearby, but it still went unnoticed.

_"Stop!" she cried out as she ran towards the familiar figures. Her legs couldn't seem to move fast enough as the figures ran ahead of her. She panted as her arms pumped the air beside her, her legs moving in time with her fast beating heart. She could feel tears stinging at her eyes but she had no idea why._

_She stopped suddenly and flailed in a circle. She couldn't comprehend where she was._

_She whimpered as she saw the fight breaking out in front of her. And then she went silent._

_It was a peculiar site. _

_Grease and Soc fighting on the same side. _

_The other gang unknown to her eyes._

_The rumble waged on as she walked, almost invisible, towards it. Her heart beat faster, if even possible, and she fastened her pace to match it._

_"Steve!" she called out as she watched a fist collide with his jaw. She tried to step between it, only to realize that they couldn't see her, couldn't feel her. She was powerless and could do nothing to stop it. _

_Tears stung her eyes as Steve was forced to the ground, his attacker on top of him. She flung her arms out and tried to pull him off of Steve. Her arms seemed to go right through him and she let out another whimper._

_Seconds later her whimper turned into a sigh of relief as she spotted Soda coming to Steve's aid, just like a real buddy would. She smiled sadly and nodded at Soda even though he couldn't see her. She moved on, her eyes scanning the lot carefully and quickly. She could just make out Dallas in the middle of a huge group of boys. She took a shaky breath before heading that way, her head held as high as she could manage. Deep down she was trembling with fear of what she might find._

_She pushed through the group of boys as if they were thin air, or maybe she was the thin air. She gasped at what she spotted and turned her head away._

_Dallas stood in the middle, bloody from head to toe. His mouth was hanging open in agony as he tried to fight as many of them off as he could. His fists and pocket knife were flying but it didn't seem to be enough. They just kept coming at him. Some held pipes, some held knives. Some even held chains and long bars of metal. _

_Dallas grunted as a chain came in contact with the back of his calve and tried to will himself to keep standing. Maggie could see the strength leaving him with every minute he still stood, but yet she couldn't bring herself to look away._

_"Stop it!" she howled, but her voice seemed to be carried away by the wind. Where was the rest of the gang? Why weren't they helping him? She reached forward trying to help. She prayed that maybe this time her hand wouldn't go all the way through him._

_She gasped when her flesh met his instead of going right through. She pulled herself towards him and cradled his body, trying hard to protect his body with her own. She couldn't breath as she was showered with kicks and metal and sharp objects. _

_'As long as he's ok' she agreed with herself as she tightened her grip on his limp body and pinned him to the ground. She groaned loudly when her ribs snapped with a crack, but kept her hold strong. _

_2 minutes. A long gruesome 2 minutes before they pried her bloody and bruised body off of his. She sobbed as they held her up by the arms, Dallas' body at her feet._

_"Stop!" she howled, her voice cracking and her throat dry. The sounds of laughs filled her ears and she bowed her head, willing the tears away. She couldn't look weak right now._

_Her knees gave out, but her captors held fast. She tilted her head up and met a pair of fiery silver eyes. Her jaw tightened, she recognized those eyes, but from where?_

_"Say goodnight." silver eyes said as he lifted a metal pole up above his head. Maggie shuttered and looked down for a few seconds, only to look back up. A sob escaped her lips as silver eyes brought the piece of metal down, hard, on top of Dally's head. Her whole body seemed to turn to lead in that moment and she fell to the ground with a thump._

A shrill scream filled the air as Maggie shot up in fright, her whole body shaking with fear. Sweat dripped down her cheeks and landed on her soaking shirt. She cut off her own scream, gulping it down and storing it away. She panted and looked around the room, her heart beating hard in her chest. She couldn't remember. What had it been about? She couldn't remember now. She shook her head frantically, grabbing for the memories, hoping to catch them before they slipped away. But it was too late. They were gone for good now. She shuttered and ran her rough hands over her goose-bumped arms. Her breathing slowed and so did her heart. She had been scared out of her mind but now she couldn't remember why.

"Maggie?" a voice called questionally. She turned her head, looking for the source. She sighed with relief when Darrel came into sight.

"You ok?" he asked, an eyebrow raised as he rubbed his unshaven cheek. She nodded blindly, her eyes starting to fall closed already.

"What time is it?" she mumbled as she looked out at the still dark yard.

"6 in the morning." was Darry's simple reply before he headed back down the hallway. She knew he had already been up, judging by his attire. She shivered again and crawled out of bed, peeling the sheets off of her legs. She closed the door with a snap and moved towards the dresser. It had once been filled with Pony's clothes, but now her own occupied it. She pulled on the heavy drawer of wood and pulled out a pair of jeans before closing it and moving to the one below it. She continued the process till all her clothes were neatly strewn over her shoulder. She opened her door again and stepped into the hallway.

Darkness greeted her, which wasn't much of a surprise.

She made her way blindly down the hallway until she could feel the gap where the bathroom door was supposed to be. She entered and flicked on the light, shielding her eyes from the harsh brightness.

She yawned as she closed the door behind her and turned on the shower, throwing her clothes on the counter so she could put them on later. She sighed when she stepped in, the hot water on her torn and bruised skin gave her shivers. Good shivers.

Steam met her when she stepped out, and she shivered against the cold air. She immediately began to dry off, intent on going with Steve and Soda to the DX. She pulled her shorts on, well, Soda's shorts to be exact, and dried her hair a bit before running a comb through it and stepping out. She shivered again and wrapped her arms around herself. She walked slowly towards the light of the kitchen, stepping over a few bodies when need be.

"Morning." she mumbled to Darry as she plunked herself down into the wooden chair closest to Darry. He simply nodded to her as he turned back to the stove and picked up the hot skillet, emptying some of its contents onto a simple white plate. She smiled tiredly at him as he placed it in front of her.

"Where'd the bruises come from? I thought they were all gone." he asked as she looked down at her knees and shines. She shrugged.

"Probably from my nightmare." she said nonchalantly as she picked up a fork and started in on her scrambled eggs.

"Great, another Pony." Darry mumbled, turning back to the stove. Maggie scuffed at his back and snarled a bit before shoving some more eggs in her mouth.

"I saw that!" Darry snapped suddenly. Maggie shook her head, a small smile on her face. Darry didn't miss anything.

She moved slowly towards the sink when she was done and washed off her plate, humming to herself. Her whole body ached but she paid no mind to it, instead she was thinking about the dream that she strangely couldn't remember. She had never really done that before, or had a dream like that. She shook her head as she dried her hands on a towel. She didn't want to ruin her day by thinking about it.

A yawn came from the door way and Maggie turned to see a shirtless Soda stretching his long arms. She smirked and threw the towel at him.

"Didn't your mama ever teach you to wear clothes?" she drawled jokingly as she passed him. Soda mumbled something incoherent and Maggie laughed some more.

She passed into the living, steering around Two Bit's limbs, and took a seat on the couch. She sighed heavily and relaxed her aching muscles. Whatever that dream had been about it sure was scary, she decided as she closed her eyes.

Her head pounded and she groaned when she realized she was starting to get a headache.

The door opened with a creak but Maggie didn't bother to open her eyes.

"Maggie?" someone whispered. She sighed heavily and let her eyes drift open.

"Oh, go away, Dallas!" she snapped as she swatted at his face. He smiled evilly down at her, as she huffed in annoyance. She tried with all her might to push him away but gave up when he didn't budge.

"Where'd those come from?" he asked as he traced a finger over her bruises.

"I don't know. I think I got them when I was dreaming." she answered shortly, pulling her legs up to her chest. He gave her a mock glare and moved to sit next to her. She sighed heavily with fake annoyance but laughed a bit afterwards.

"You coming with me and Stevey?" Soda asked as he pulled open the bathroom door and stepped out. He stood in a pair of jeans like usual, no shoes and no shirt.

"Yeah, I'm coming." she told him with a nod of her head.

"Who said we'd want you?" a new voiced joked as Steve came into view, kicking Two Bit purposefully. Two Bit groaned and rolled over, cursing softly under his breath and grabbing his head. Steve chuckled and reached forward to ruffle Maggie's hair.

"I think you'll want me." she said without thinking.

The room fell silent after a few seconds and all of the boys turned to look at Maggie, including the hung over Two Bit.

"I didn't mean it like that!" she protested with a blush and a shake of her head.

"I think you did." Dallas countered with a shake of his own head.

"Didn't!" Maggie snapped, cuffing him on the back of the head. "As I was saying, you'll want me because I'm going to help with the cars." she watched as Steve's tense expression left and a care free one replaced it.

"You mean you're going to _break_ the cars." a tired Pony said as he ambled into the room.

"Hah!" Maggie fake laughed. "Not funny!" she said a few seconds later, her face going back to its serious expression.

"Hurry up, Soda! We have to leave." Steve called, his voice booming in Pony's ears.

"Do you have to be so loud?" Pony snapped as he rubbed his face with his hands.

"Shut up." Steve snapped irritably as she took a seat next to Maggie on the couch after Dally had sulked into the kitchen. Maggie sighed and moved closer to him, putting her wet hair on his shoulder.

"Maggie!" he whined as he tried to move away from her. Maggie laughed and rubbed her hair even further down his arm.

"Ok, let's go." Soda announced as he entered the living room, fully dressed...except for his shoes. Maggie smiled and crawled off the couch, winking at Steve playfully.

"Shoes, Soda." Steve reminded Soda as he pushed Maggie.

"Oh, yeah." Soda said, before rushing back into his and Pony's room. Maggie sighed and walked towards the door, pushing it open and jumping down the stairs. She made her way towards Steve's car and crawled into the back seat, watching as Steve and Soda followed her outside.

"Let's go." she urged them as they took their time getting to the car.

"You know, usually people aren't agar to go to work. And you're not even getting paid." Soda said, shaking his head with mock wonderment.

Maggie swatted at him and sat back, a content smile on her face.

Then memory hit her.

Her smile fell suddenly and she leaned forward in the seat so her head was between Soda and Steve.

"What day is it?" she asked hesitantly, looking between the two.

"I dunno..." Soda trailed off to think. "September 12?" he asked Steve, turning to look at him.

"Yeah I think so." Steve agreed with a nod of his head. Maggie leaned back with a thud and tears filled her eyes. She wiped at them hastily and moved her eyes out the window. Her thoughts filled with pictures of her mother and her father and she tried to shake them away. She didn't want to think about them right now. She couldn't think about them right now. She wiped again at her eyes and sniffled for a moment. She felt like she couldn't breath, like the walls were closing in on her. Could it really be 4 years? Four long years that they had been gone?

They had missed her 16 birthday, she realized. More tears filled her eyes as she thought of all the other things they would miss. Her wedding, if she ever had one, her first child, meeting all the guys from the gangs, Tulsa and Brooklyn. They wouldn't meet them, wouldn't see them. Her father wouldn't walk her down the isle and her mother wouldn't be in the delivery room with her. There was so much she needed to say to them, so much she wanted them to see. So much she wanted them to be there for.

She took a deep shaky breath and tried again to push away her thoughts.

"Maggie!" Steve yelled. Maggie jumped and turned towards Steve, who was still sitting in the driver's seat. "We're here." he said, his voicing lowering a bit. Maggie nodded slowly and crawled out of the back seat, stumbling as she wiped at her now dry eyes. She smiled at Soda, what she hoped was a bright smile, and then moved on to the door. She followed Steve in after he had unlocked it and headed to the bathroom to make sure she didn't look bad after her crying fit.

She nodded to her reflection in the mirror and flicked the light off again, heading towards the garage where Steve was already turning on the lights and getting out the tools. She jumped up on the hood of the nearest car and leaned back against its cool metal. She knew that the cars wouldn't start flooding in until around 9:00. They had a while to go yet.

"Get your lazy ass of that car. We have to fix that you know, not dent it." Steve joked as he swatted at her with a towel. Maggie groaned and glared at him, anything to keep her mind off of what was nagging at her.

She slide of the hood and moved to stand next to Steve. He opened the hood with a little pop and hoisted it up, putting the lever underneath it to hold it up.

Steve stepped back from the hood and moved back towards the tool box, pulling a few tools out before walking back. He threw them on the ground next to the car, leaving a wrench in his hand to work with.

He bent over the hood and got to work, wiggling this and that. Maggie wanted to move and help him, but her legs felt like they were glued to the spot.

Her parents had died in a car...

She took in a sharp breath as tears once again sprung to her eyes. She wiped at them and looked hastily towards Steve, hoping he didn't notice. He hadn't.

"I didn't get to say goodbye." Maggie said matter of factly, even though her voice was shaking. "They died today...4 years ago."

Steve stopped working on the engine and turned his head slightly so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. She was bitting her bottom lip and the vein in her neck was popping out. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and her eyes were red and puffy.

He sighed and moved out from under the hood. Eying the girl in front of him. It killed him to watch her like this. To watch her cry and watch her suffer. But what was he supposed to do?

He nodded slowly, not really sure what to do.

"They'll never get to see me get married." she said suddenly with a shake of her head. Tears rolled slowly down her cheeks and fell from her chin to the ground. She turned away from him, wiping at her cheeks yet again with the heel of her palm. She just couldn't stop crying. She couldn't stop thinking about them!

"I'm sorry. I'm being a baby." she apologized as she shook her head, still not facing him.

"You have a right to be upset." Steve argued, walking up behind her. Her grabbed at her elbow, turning her to face him. "Don't apologize for being sad." he told her sternly, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes.

She nodded her head slowly, inching her way towards him cautiously.

She sprung into his arms a few seconds later, wrapping her own around his middle. Her head rested in between his pecks, on his chest, and she got a weird sense of security and hope from the sound of his heart.

She tightened her grip on him, never wanting to let him go.

She felt like she was listening to her own heart beating, except it wasn't hers at all.

Her own was broken.

She missed them too much for it not to be.


	20. Spiky

**Author's Note: I just wanted to remind everyone that voting for GreasersChoice2006 and Wrong Side of the Tracks Awards has officially begun and Send the Pain Below is nominated at both sites. SO VOTE! Lol. If you love it that is:D Ne way...Yeah. Here's the chappy...**

You know those times when you're unsure? You're unsure of what you're doing, unsure of what your thinking, of what your feeling.

Maggie couldn't have any more of those times in one day if someone had paid her.

She sat cross-legged on the counter, watching as Soda swept the floor of the DX out of sheer boredom. The sound of the radio was blaring from the garage as Steve worked on the cars. The sight of seeing Soda lip-singing would have been funny if Maggie hadn't seen it so many times before.

She wanted nothing more then to hum along with the music and act nonchalant, but she didn't have the strength or the will. The only thing she felt she could do was sit there, and stare at everything in sight. She couldn't bring herself to say anything to Soda or to Steve.

It had been a simple thing really, Steve comforting her when she broke down, but Maggie was always the one to make it into something more. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't stop feeling his arms around her and his heart beat under her ear.

At a time like this, she shouldn't have been thinking about it, and that's what made her the maddest!

She couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how much she tried. It was the anniversary of her parents' deaths and all she could thing about was Steve. His arms, his eyes, his muscles...

Maggie shook her head forcefully and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, letting her gaze turn towards the window.

She snapped her gaze back to Soda again, wanting what she saw outside to disappear. She didn't need this right now.

The all too familiar bell dinged and she groaned inwardly, contemplating on whether to cuss him out or run into the garage and hide behind Steve.

"Maggie." he said simply, right before the sound of his boots grew nearer. She refused to look at him, letting her eyes drift anywhere but to him.

"Just get out, Val." she said simply, her eyes still wondering. She caught Soda's eye finally and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"We really need to talk. What I did..what I said, it was foolish." he sounded sincere, but how sincere could a drug dealer get?

She sighed heavily and shook her head.

"That has to be the understatement of the year." she told him, her voice low and as nonchalant as she could get it. She took in a breath before jumping off the counter, her Converse made a little smack on the tiled floor and she found herself wondering how she could still fit into them after so long.

Anything was better then letting her frustration take over. She was way too messed up to explode on Val today.

_Maybe tomorrow_, she agreed with herself.

"I feel like shit, Maggie!" he pleaded.

Her gaze finally snapped up to meet his. Her eyes were icy cold for once and she didn't know how long she could keep her rage inside. How long she could keep her _hurt_ inside.

"How the fuck do you think I feel, Val? Am I supposed to be all flowers? I got jumped! Actually jumped is an understatement!" she moved closer to him, feeling like a giant even though he loomed 2 feet over her.

"Maggie, just listen!" he pleaded, again, his eyes searching her's, trying to make her understand.

She stuttered for a minute. His look was catching her off guard and she didn't know what she wanted to do or how she was to act. She shook her head, more to herself. She couldn't let him get to her, she couldn't feel pity for him. Not now. Not after all of this.

"No, no I won't listen. I've listened for too long!"

"You're being stubborn!" his pleading quickly turned to anger and his eyes became cold again, this was the Val she knew. This was the man she had lived with for the past months. The man who had sheltered her.

This cold, harsh man broke her down more then the soft pleading one did. It was a nutty situation!

"Just stop, Val, while you're ahead, stop!" it was her time to plead, but she didn't mind. She just didn't want to listen to him, didn't want to be near him. She was almost in tears as it was. She didn't need him sticking around any longer.

He reminded her of everything. Of New York, of their relationship, of their closeness. Of her feelings for him.

He reminded her of so many painful memories she could barely stand to look at him, and yet she was. What had the world come to?

"Fine." his words were harsh and spat out of his mouth like a disgusting piece of food. "But you haven't seen the end of me!" he stormed back towards the door. The bell dinged again and Val let a curse fly as he knocked into a guy about his own size. Maggie shook her head and held back a sniffle.

"What can I help you with, gentleman?" she asked the new arrivals, trying as hard as she could to get her feelings and thoughts under control.

"You look better then then the other night..." the voice caught her off guard and she vaguely recognized it. She shook it off as she turned to the three 6 feet tall guys standing in front of her, looking down at her with smirks.

"Excuse me?" she asked hesitantly, leaning up against the counter, trying to look as tough as possible.

"Before we beat you up..." another one whispered, "you look better now."

Maggie gulped and lifted an eyebrow, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." she trailed off, giving them a look like they were crazy.

"I just love that feeling of you're body under mine. Maybe we can do it again sometime..." the first one whispered, stepping closer and visibly checking her out.

She rose a hand to hit him out of anger, before she even realized who they actually were. She had never...

A hand shot out and caught her's and the guy in front of her took another step forward, pinning her against he counter. She took the chance and let her eyes travel up his tight chest and to his face. She took in his spiked brown hair, his tanned skin, his brown eyes, and his straight white teeth.

He didn't look like a thug.

_Looks can be deceiving_, her subconscious said in a sing-song voice. Maggie wanted to scuff at herself. What the fuck was getting into her, lately?

"We're here to see your pimps. We have business to discuss." he explained lowly, his eyes trailing down to see if he could get a look down her shirt.

"There in the back." she bit out slowly before bringing her knee up. She wanted to laugh when she caught him by surprise and her knee connected with that oh so tender spot. His grip went slack and she pushed him away, glaring at his pansies behind him before heading to the garage to receive her so called pimps.

"Steve, Soda." she yelled. Soda's smiling face popped up over the car and Maggie snorted, even though inside she was trembling with anger.

"Some business men are here to see you." an eyebrow shot up on Soda's face before his head disappeared. A minute later him and Steve came walking around the car.

Steve's mouth was set in a tight line as he looked over her disheveled figure.

"You'll see..." she said lowly, leading them both up front.

The obvious leader, who she had kneed perfectly, was now attempting to stand, trying to keep his dignity. He shot a short glare in Maggie's direction with pained eyes before standing to his full height.

"Who're you?" Steve snapped coldly, throwing his rag at the counter after wiping off his hands.

"We're here to discuss a rumble." the spiky one said, his voice a bit strained. Maggie had to fight off a smile.

"A rumble?" Soda asked questionably. His smile disappearing.

"Yeah." spiky shot out irritably.

"Oh for fuck's sakes." Maggie snorted. "These are the guys that jumped me the other night." she explained to Steve and Soda. "They want to, probably, set up a date that the rumble can be on."

"Be glad Dallas isn't here." Soda muttered lowly as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked the other way.

Steve, of course, had grown tense by now and was obviously thinking about kicking all three of their asses, no matter how big they were.

"Go call the guys at the house, Maggie." Steve instructed, his jaw set as he glared at the 3 in front of him.

"Yes, sir." Maggie muttered, heading into the back room and grabbing the phone. She dialed the number hurriedly and listened as the phone on the other end rung a few times.

"Hey. Yeah it's Maggie. The guys that jumped me the other night are at the DX. They want to set a date for the rumble." she held the phone away from her ear as a few yells sounded from the receiver and a few curses as well.

"Yeah, just get here." she yelled back into the phone and then hung up. She sighed and muttered obscenities under her breath as she moved back into the main room.

Steve was just as tense as she had left him, but hadn't moved from his spot. A good sign to say the least.

"They'll be here in like..." she trailed off as a screech of tires sounded from outside. "Now." she answered nonchalantly. "That was fast." she said to the string of boys that had just entered the DX.

"Well, we can't start yet. Eric, Tim, and Dallas are on their way." Darry answered with a shrug.

"Wait, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at work." Maggie protested.

"I..took a break." he said simply, even though it did sound a bit rehearsed.

"You look like a bull." she stated to Dallas, who had just charged into the room seething. Tim and Eric on his heels. "Don't charge, I don't have the red blanket yet."

Everyone turned to stare at her with raised eyebrows as she cracked up laughing.

"Ok..ok. I'm sorry. This is just a bit much." she said, finally calming down and getting serious. She took her rightful place on top of the counter so she could look ever everything. Having so many 6 feet tall guys in one room was a bit unnerving, especially when you were only about 5'2.

She couldn't place what she was feeling.

The only feelings she could really make out were rage and fear. The two were mixing together and taking over all the other ones swimming through her head and she couldn't get a grip of herself. She didn't want to be here right now. She came to that conclusion as she blocked out the words of all the other people in the room.

Darry and Dallas were standing at the front of the big group, discussing the rumble with the three pansies and all the rest of the gang stood behind them.

Steve looked like he just wanted to beat them up and send them on their way, like a message to whoever their leader was.

Kind of like "We come in hostility!"

Maggie shook the thought from her head with a weird look and moved her eyes out the window. Dates were being thrown around, rules, whether to have rules, weapons, restrictions on weapons.

Maggie gazed down into the whole thing to see Dallas turned around and looking at her, as if to reassure himself that she was still there, was still safe. She thought better of that idea. It _was _Dallas Winston after all.

She wondered, just how many of the boys in this room would die. And how many of their gang-mates would die too. How many of them would be willing to put their lives on the line for territory? For something so stupid as land? She shook her head. It wasn't stupid. She knew that. It was all the greasers had. All the greasers _could _fight for. And they would keep on fighting.

"Ok. It's settled then." Darry spoke coldly and his words cut through her thoughts like a knife through butter. She shuddered for a moment when she realized it had already gotten dark. The tension in the air had risen to an unbearable level and she knew they all had to get out of here before something happened.

"Let's go guys." she spoke up, for the first time in years it seemed like. Her voice was already dry and she needed something to drink. But she stopped herself from saying anything about it. It wasn't important.

"Yeah." Steve agreed, walking over towards Maggie and pulling her off the counter. "Let's lock up." he told her as he headed towards the garage. She followed suit, knowing he would want her to help put all the tools away.

"You ok?" he whispered when they were finally alone. His eyes were a bit softer then they usually were and he looked like he was actually concerned.

Maggie nodded her head with a small smile. "Fine. Just tired." she answered, moving out of his grasp and towards the tools that were strewn across the garage. She set to work picking them up, letting her mind focus on the cool metal of the tools instead of the haunting thoughts of another rumble.

Just thinking about it made her shudder and shy away in fear. This was one rumble she didn't think she wanted to fight in.

"You done?" Steve's voice cut in, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." she said quietly, shoving the last tool into the box before shutting the drawer and heading out of the garage. Steve locked the door behind her and then turned around to look at her.

A smile had plastered itself onto his rugged features and his slightly yellow teeth were showing. It was a goofy smile on his face, but if you would have put the same smile on one Sodapop Curtis, then it would have been stunning.

Maggie laughed at the thought and shoved Steve playfully on the shoulder before walking more into the main room. Most of the gang had already gone and the only ones left were Pony, Dallas, and Soda.

A weird combination.

To say the least.

"You coming with me or Steve?" Dallas asked, his voice tense and low. He was _not _in a good mood, understandably.

"I don't know. Are you going to charge at me if I say no?" she asked playfully, trying to lighten his mood. He glared back at her. His eyes going from blue to stormy blue.

"Ok." she said, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "I'll ride with Steve."

"Alright. Pony, Soda, you're riding me." Dallas said loudly so Soda could hear him from the back room.

"Ok." was Pony's simple reply before he bolted out the door.

"It's you and me, Stevey. You and me." Maggie said jokingly as she rubbed her hands together in a funny way. Steve gave her a look like she was crazy, and she couldn't help but to agree with her own look.

"See ya." Soda said as he threw the keys at Steve and darted out the door, followed by Dallas. What were they so excited to get back to?

Maggie walked slowly out the door after them and tucked her hair over her shoulder. She took in a deep breath as fresh air greeted her and turned to watch Steve lock up. It was a short process, only because he had done it so much, and they were on their way before long.

She slid into the car with ease and pulled the door closed behind her, turning to look at Steve.

"Thanks, Steve." she said suddenly, surprising even herself. "For everything."


	21. Numb

**A Call for Help: **

**I'm currently looking for a beta-reader for this story. I really really need one because my grammar and spelling and such SUCKS! So I want to make this a bit better to read. I know it's kind of late for that isn't it? But once I'm finished with this story completely I may just go back and fix all of that. But review or send me a message if you're interested!!**

"You scared?"

Maggie had a weird sense of deja-vu as the words left Dally's mouth, and was taken back to that oh so familiar day that Dallas had almost gotten killed. She shook her head a few times, as if to rid herself of the awful memories, and snapped her gaze towards Dallas.

"No, I'm happy fucking go lucky." she said sarcastically. Her eyes boring into his. His face seemed to harden right before her eyes and he got some sort of defensive look in his eyes. She wanted to shake her head at him and tell him how ridiculous he was being, how ridiculous all of them were being. But she just couldn't. She knew no matter what happened she had to stick with them, for the good and the bad. She couldn't leave them hanging, not right now. Not again.

She looked back up at him and raised a hand against her forehead, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. It was mid-afternoon already and the sun was high overhead and it wasn't giving onlookers any sort of mercy. She sighed as she took in more of his cold stony eyes and reached up to pat his thigh.

He looked away then, down the street. Anywhere but at her. She leaned towards him. She could tell he had been thinking the same thing she had been. That one or more members of the gang could get killed. And it scared him. He didn't have to say it. He didn't even have to show it. She just knew.

"Let's go back inside." she told him, patting his thigh again and hoisting herself up. She turned around without a word, opening the screen door with a creek and welcoming the shelter of the house.

"You don't have to come with us." Darry's voice cut in as he emerged into the living room. His black muscle shirt fit his body just right, showing off every ripple of muscle. It was his own personal way of scaring people but the gang had gotten used to it.

"I know, but I need to. I mean, if you think about it, you guys aren't exactly that easy to talk to, especially when you're talking to a soc. So I might as well come along and interpret." she said lowly. Her eyes darted back and forth between Dallas and Darry, waiting for an answer. None came, but neither protested.

It was weird, Maggie had to admit. She never thought she'd see the day where the greasers and socs came together for something.

Well, they hadn't exactly come together yet. That's where they were going, to figure things out and hopefully make the socs join their side. If they were smart, they would. It would save them a lot of pain in the end.

That stupid new gang was jumping both parties, greasers and socs, and they weren't going to stop of their own free will. They were going to have to be made.

And that's why they had to come together.

A sigh came from her right and she turned to see Eric leaning against the wall, waiting for the show to get on the road. He had front row tickets and you could tell he didn't want to waste them.

He wanted it over with just as much as the next greaser.

"Where's Tim at anyway?" Dallas asked. His eyes wondering from one person to the next, watching as one after the other shook their heads at him.

He growled deep in his throat and fidgeted for a minute before leaning forward on the worn out couch and putting his elbows on his knees. He looked just as stressed as everyone else in the room, which was so not normal for Dallas.

Maggie wanted to turn to him and ask him what was wrong, but she had a feeling she already knew.

She sauntered into the kitchen after a few minutes of watching him and found Pony and Johnny at the table, reading some book of Pony's.

"Hey, Johnny-Cake, you know I love you right?" she asked in a sly voice as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"What do you want?" the words were low. Quiet, of course, but they brought a smile to her face none the less. Was Johnny getting bolder?

"You need to go tell Dallas a stupid joke or something. Make him at least lighten up. He's pissing me off." she got to the point, squeezing his shoulders every once in a while for emphasis. A sigh could be heard from Johnny's lips as he scooted the chair back with a squeak and headed towards the living room. She nodded her head and made her way into the kitchen, ready to attack the frig for something to eat before they left.

Her heart was solely set on Darry's famous chocolate cake and her mouth was already watering.

She found it, already sitting on the counter and she clapped her hands like a little girl for a few seconds.

"What are you doing?" Steve's voice cut in as he entered the kitchen to get a beer. He sounded slightly amused but at the same time confused, as she watched.

"There's cake." she said simply with a shrug, going back to being solemn. She made her way towards it with a plate and a blunt knife and nodded again before setting the plate down.

"You want some?" she asked him as she turned around for a few seconds.

"I'm ok." was his answer. He had taken up a spot on the counter, one leg bended at the knee and propping himself up. She shook her head and made a tsking sound before turning back around.

She raised the knife grinning evilly before starting towards the cake to cut it.

A few seconds later a frown had found its way to her lips and she was looking down at the cake with distaste.

"It's hard!" she yelled, stomping her foot. She growled deep in her throat and then went silent...as did the rest of the house.

"What the hell are you guys doing in there?" Darry yelled before he stomped in. Maggie's eyes went wide as she realized what it would have sounded like to a passer-by.

"We weren't...no...no!" she told him, shaking her head. "It's just, the cake is hard!" she stuck a finger out and poked the cake for emphasis and turned back to see the whole gang had entered the kitchen, laughing their asses off.

"Shut up you guys!" she snapped at them. Her face turned serious and she looked at them all with burning eyes.

The laughter seemed to die down in mere seconds and the room went back to sullen and quiet again. She shook herself and gently put her knife on the counter. She shook her head and leaned back. Her hands crossing over her chest on instinct.

Silence fell on the room and it led to a perfect opportunity for everyone to think. To just flat out think about everything that was going on and about to happen.

During that silence is when she finally realized it. When the thought finally hit her. It hit her so hard her eyes started to tear up and her throat started to burn along with her nose. It hit her so hard she couldn't breath.

She had forgotten.

Forgotten about Val, Pete, Bennie, Saul, Dwain, and Carson. She had forgotten about the guys who had comforted her for those hard months. She had forgotten. Just the thought was enough to make her cry.

She rushed from the room and down the hall to the phone. The plastic was cool on her hand as she slowly picked up the phone. The dial tone rang in her ear as she started twisting in the numbers.

"Buck?" she asked hesitantly. She wanted to sigh with relief when he answered. "Are Val, Bennie, and Pete still there?" she asked softly, turning her back away from the kitchen.

More tears filled her eyes.

"They left." it was more of a statement. A sentence to make herself believe that they had really left. It looked like she wasn't the only one that had forgotten.

"Thanks." her voice didn't sound like her own. She was numb again. She couldn't even feel herself dropping the phone down. What was she going to do? Write them a letter? Call? What would she say? That she was sorry she had forgotten about them. The boys that had taken care of her and fed her and clothed her when she was in her most vulnerable time. She couldn't say anything. Nothing could redeem her from that sort of thing. That sort of betrayal.

She took in a shaky breath and sniffled for a minute. A strangled sound left her mouth and she tried to cut it off the best she could.

The cool dry wood of the wall met the back of her arms as she leaned on it. She couldn't breath...She didn't want to breath.

Her hands reached up to cover her face, as if to protect her from harsh reality.

As if to protect herself from her own cruelty.

Arms wrapped around her from the front and she startled for a minute before recognizing his scent. She welcomed his arms and clutched on tighter to him. She wanted him to make all her pain go away.

She wished he could.

And he did too.

She sniffled again and sighed when she realized she had gotten his shirt wet.

"Thank you."

She seemed to be saying that a lot lately, she realized. Especially to him. A wide, sad grin spread across his lips and he shook his head. His complicated swirls moved with the motion because of all the grease and she studied it for a second.

Anything to get her mind of things.

His rough calloused hand reached up and wiped at her tears. The simple gesture made her think of how lucky she was...and how much she didn't deserve him or any of them for that matter.

"Let's go. Tim's here." Dally's voice rang out before the door slammed shut. Steve wiped at her eyes again before wrapping an arm around her and leading her down the hall.

She couldn't believe how numb she was.

Everything was a blur. The greetings, the car ride, the plans, the talking. She couldn't seem to hear or see any of it, no matter how hard she tried to focus. She couldn't breath. It was like a snake was wrapping itself around her chest.

She just couldn't get over how horrible she was. How..stupid, she was.

Her head hit the door with a small thump as she got out of the car but she barely noticed until everyone turned to stare at her.

"You ok?" Dallas asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Fine." was her reply, a simple shrug coming from her shoulders. They had ended up at the Dingo finally. They had decided to meet the Socs in public, figuring it was a better idea. She could have cared less at that moment. At that time. She just wanted to get it over with, go home, and try and call New York. She needed to hear Val's voice. Needed to know they were alright.

But most of all she needed to apologize and beg for forgiveness because of her stupidity.

The door opened and they were greeted with smoke, just like always. She didn't cough or flinch like she used to but adjusted right away. It was amazing how much a person could get used to.

"There they are." Soda pointed out, pointing to a huge booth in the corner. Maggie followed the rest of them, trailing behind Tim. She could make out Bob and Randy and a few other of the Socs, but besides that it didn't look like anyone else had decided to come. They were greatly outnumbered to say the least.

"Scoot over." Tim commanded harshly towards one of the smaller ones, giving him a death glare. The guy look like a lost puppy as he turned to Randy and Bob for direction on whether he should or not and Maggie found herself laughing coldly.

She needed to snap out of this...

"Ow!" she yelled as a sharp felling cut through her arm.

"Snap out of it!"

It was almost as if Two Bit had read her thoughts and she almost smiled, but she knew he was right.

"Do it again." she commanded. Two Bit smirked and shook his head before scooting in next to Tim. She took a spot at the head of the table, standing so she could look at everybody in their group.

She could feel the eyes of everyone in the Dingo on them and it unnerved her a little to know that every move they made was being watched.

"We need you're help.." Darry started out, but trailed off. Maggie could tell he didn't quite know how to put. After all it had never really happened before. The greasers and the socs coming together to do something.

A sigh escaped Randy's lips before he opened them to speak.

"Are you talking about that new gang in town that's been jumping people left and right?" he asked, looking at all the greasers and then at the socs. Darry nodded and sent a stern glance his way. He looked like he was expecting to be turned down.

But he was let down instead.

"Yeah. Well, we were going to ask you guys the same question." Bob interrupted.

A look of shock founds it way through Darry's features but he quickly hid it with a smile. He struck a hand out towards Bob and Randy, waiting for at least one of them to shake it so they could start talking business. It had been easier then any of them had thought it would be.

Simple note: In this chapter I wanted to kind of shine light on the fact that Johnny and Dallas are still really close and that no one can take Johnny's place.

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, you guys. I would have had this chapter up way sooner then this if it weren't for the fact that I just had semester exams. I was like really busy with studying an all that. I hope you guys can forgive me. But here it is, there may be a few errors in it and I'm sorry for it. I tried the best I could to proofread. Which leads me to point out again that I am looking for a beta-reader for this story. Thanks guys!**


	22. Here You Go

**Author's Note:**

**I know most of you are going to kill me for this but I think, well, I know, that I"m going to be putting this story on hold. I just can't handle it right now. I have horrible writers block and I have a school play coming up that I think I might get a role in and practice starts on Tuesday. And school work is weighing me down. Maybe if I have the time and the ability I'll write another chapter. But not right now. Sorry guys...**


	23. All My Fault

**Author's Note: So, I updated, but this doesn't mean this story is off of hold. It's still on hold, trust me. Till I can find a lot morw inspiration and a lot more encouragement anyway. This chapter is short and may be a bit mary-suish and over the top but believe it or not it is a huge part in the plot and the ending. There's only about 2 chapters left. The rumble and the final chapter (which will be a huge surprise). Read on...and try and review for the sack of the story. :)**

A cough escaped her lips as she flipped over on the couch. Snores could be heard from all over the house and from different rooms, but she was used to it. The snores weren't what was keeping her up.

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

She had tried...tried to call Val and Bennie and Pete and the rest of them. A girl had answered. She could hear her talking to an obviously mad Val who refused to talk to her. He had flat out refused.

Maggie sniffled again and pulled the blanket around herself even tighter before sitting up. The rough fibers of the couch scratching at her exposed skin. She let out a shaky breath as her eyes drifted over everyone in the room. Dallas in the chair. Two Bit, Steve, and Johnny on the floor.

If they were her family then why did she feel so bad about leaving the Tigers?

_Because they're your family too_, her mind screamed at her. She shook her head and wiped at her eyes again, refusing to listen.

She needed sleep. Lots of sleep. Especially if she was going to go to that damn rumble tomorrow.

They hadn't wasted anytime with planning it. Not like they used to.

It was a simple rumble. Skin to be sure. But that didn't mean anyone was going to follow the rules. It would probably end up being knives and bottles and chains and everything else you could find laying on the street.

It was a deadly game they were playing at, but it didn't seem like anyone cared as long as they had their turf.

Another cough escaped her and shook her whole body.

Could she do this? Would they let her do this?

She needed to talk to Val. She just needed to hear his voice.

She picked her way, slowly, out of the living room and down the hall. The plastic was as cold as ever as she picked up the phone. She turned the numbers in as quick as her fingers would let her.

She could hear the dial tone and then the phone was ringing. If she was lucky someone was home. If she was lucky they would answer.

"Hello."

She almost wanted to cry as she heard his voice, strong and raspy in her ear. She wanted to collapse right there and tell him how sorry she was and how much she wanted him back.

"Hello?" he was getting irritated with every passing second but she couldn't find her voice, try as she might.

"Don't hang up." her voice was dry and laced with sadness, even to her own ears. But it didn't matter, she had spoken to him. Told him not to hang up. And hopefully he wouldn't.

"What?" he snapped. His voice, if possible, was even more annoyed then before and she found herself closing her eyes and preying that he would just talk to her. Just for a few minutes. Hell, for a few seconds! Anything.

"There's a rumble tomorrow." she said the first thing that came to mind and quickly cursed herself afterwards, but her mouth didn't stop there. "Its skin, but they're not going to follow the rules. It's going to be pretty rough."

"I'm supposed to care?" his words hit her like a million sharp knives, thrown hard and right to their target.

"I wanted..." she trailed off. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she could barely hear herself think. "…to tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything that happened. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you guys, for the Tigers. I love all of you so much. I'm sorry." she tried to muffle a sob as the words escaped her, tumbling out of her mouth like vomit. Bad tasting vomit.

She clawed at the wall trying to keep herself standing up strait. Her breathing was shallow and someone might as well have been strangling her. She held her breath for a few seconds, waiting, preying, for his response. But none came. None at all.

The dial tone sounded after a few more seconds and she collapsed onto the floor. She always screwed everything up. She couldn't do anything right. It was all her fault. It was her fault they were in this mess to begin with. It was her fault Dally had gotten shot. It was her fault her parents were dead.

She did the only thing she knew how. She bolted, fast and silent out the door and down the street. Rocks cut into her feet and twigs snapped under her weight. Darry's shirt flew in the wind behind her and her legs were lined with goose bumps for the cold. Clothes. She should have put on clothes.

Just another mistake to add to the list, just another one.

She tripped and fell. The skin on her knees ripped away and blood poured out.

God it was happening all over again.

But Dallas wouldn't be there to pick her up. Not this time.

Not again.

She sat back on her heels, burying her face in her hands. It was a mess. Everything was a mess and it was all her fault.

No Dallas. No parents. No sister. No Steve. No Tim.

Just herself and that rumble. That stupid rumble. She was all alone...

And she knew it.


	24. A Real Update

**Author's Note: So this is for your reading pleasure. Finally up and ready to read, well almost. I'll probably come back later and delete it so I can proof read again and then post. I'm only home about 3 hours a day now, not counting sleeping hours, and I'm pretty tired ALL the time. So bare with me guys and I hope you like this pretty long chapter! I know I keep making it longer as in chapter wise but I think there are going to be about 2 or 3 more left:)**

Blood shot eyes stared back at her. Ratty, greasy hair and a pale face.

She looked like shit, she realized, as she leaned over the sink closer towards the mirror. Her eyes were practically red all over and she looked like she hadn't seen a drop of sun in all her life. She was so pale, almost dead like. She shivered and stepped away from the mirror, turning the water on and splashing her face with cold water. It didn't help much, just sent another chill down her spine. She dried her face slowly, watching herself in the mirror intently.

She wasn't sure what she saw.

A deserter maybe. A fake, a flaw. She was just so unsure.

She shook her head and threw the towel across the bathroom, opening the door without a sound.

She peeked her head out, her eyes darting this way and that to try and make sure no one was there to catch her.

No one had stirred when she had left 10 minutes ago and no one had come running after her. She had somehow managed to escape getting hit by 2 cars, which could have only been considered a miracle. But now that she was back in the Curtis house, listening to the bitter nothings of the whole place, she wished she had been hit by one of those cars.

She wished she had been hit hard.

She turned down the hall, making her way towards the kitchen with all the stealth she possessed. Once she got there she turned her head to the right, getting a glimpse of the clock that was just barely illuminated by the moonlight coming from the window.

There was exactly 11 hours until the rumble (5:00 a.m) and she was already restless and couldn't sit still. She wasn't going to make it through the day if she didn't get it together.

Someone stirred in the living room and Maggie froze, waiting to see if one of the boys was going to get up and go to the bathroom, instead she heard the door slam. Her thoughts instantly turned to wondering if someone had left already, maybe Johnny.

But those thoughts were replaced when footsteps made there way towards the kitchen.

Maggie's hand instinctively went to her back pocket where she kept her switch blade, grabbing for it just in case.

She had a house full of greasers protecting her but that didn't mean she felt safe.

"God damn you!" she cursed as Tim swept through the door and stopped a few feet in front of her.

She could just faintly make out a smirk on his lips in the moonlight and realized his scar was visible too. She didn't know whether to be happy it was him or to be angry.

"One of my boys said they saw you out and about pretty early this morning." he whispered coolly, taking another step closer.

"You always get up this early?" she changed the subject quickly, sliding her switchblade back into her pocket and turning towards the sink to get a glass of water.

"Yeah." was his simple whispered replied. She shook her head but tensed when he took another step closer. He was just a foot away from her now. She didn't have to turn around to know that and their close proximity was giving her the chills.

"Listen…" he started before trailing off. Maggie turned after laying her glass back on the counter and looked at him. He was so close to her but she still couldn't see his face, and it bothered her.

"To what?" she questioned mockingly, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't hear anything."

He let out a low growl of annoyance and anger and on instinct Maggie took a step back.

She knew not to mess with the bull or she was going to get the horns, especially when it came to Tim. He had some pretty large horns...

"We never got to talk about that one time-"

"Don't worry about it." she cut him off, shaking her head and leaning back on the sink. "It's not a huge deal." she tried to convince him with a care free shrug, but from the way he stood she knew it hadn't worked.

He took a step forward a few seconds latter and Maggie was surprised when she felt the feel of his front side pushing against hers. She took in a sharp breath and looked up at him, questioning in her eyes even though he couldn't see it.

"I didn't mean for it to go that far." he told her, his face leaning in a bit more.

"Then why is it still going this far?" she questioned, her voice barely audible.

The lights snapped on and Maggie threw a hand up to shield herself from the sudden burst of it.

"This is...awkward..." Soda said as he stood in the doorway in his boxers and looked at Maggie and Tim, pressed up against each other. A dark figure appeared behind Soda and Soda turned to see who it was.

"Double awkward." he corrected himself as Dallas shoved his way passed him.

Dallas held a calm cold expression but both Tim and Maggie knew better.

"Save it for the rumble." Maggie warned him in a low voice, pushing Tim away from her and stepping towards Dallas. "Just save it." she told him again, planting her hands on his chest to push him away if need be.

Dallas didn't drop his glare on Tim and Maggie wondered what the hell he was thinking about. She could almost see it now.

Dallas thinking about how long Tim and her had being 'going at it' without him knowing it. And with Dallas, he would come up with the most disgusting thoughts he could.

"Don't think about it." she urged him, her hands grabbing his shirt in her fists. "You're just going to make yourself even angrier."

"Like I don't have a right to be?" he questioned suddenly, breaking his glare on Tim to turn it to Maggie.

"Dallas…" she warned before trailing off. "Save it for the rumble." she told him again. "Besides, you're going to wake everyone else up."

"We're already up." a voice said, right before Darry stepped into the kitchen followed by Steve. Maggie gave a strangled sigh and let herself drop into a wooden chair at the table. Her head was already aching for all the promises of mishap the day held and she found herself wanting to crawl back into bed and not come out.

"I hate this!" she whined as she buried her face in her hands.

"Well, Maggie was the first one up." Soda said cheerily and Maggie knew he was just trying to lighten the mood...by making her fix breakfast.

"That is so not going to work on me, Soda." Maggie snapped as she flipped a few pieces of stay hair out of her face. "Making me make breakfast is not going to lighten the situation."

"Yes it is." Pony agreed from the doorway, wearing a rare smirk that he never showed. Maggie almost smiled back at him. Almost.

"I hate you all so much right now." she told them as she looked from one to the other. When she got to Tim she took him in. His flaring muscles and his black muscle shirt, his hair and his non-shaven face.

_He looks so yummy_, she thought, almost licking her lips. And then she caught herself and instead looked him in the eye. He held the same desire she held for him and she knew it.

_Too bad I can't act on it_, she thought as she lifted herself out of the chair and stepped over to the refrigerator.

"I hope ya'll know I feel like a house maid." she called after the gang as they walked back to the living room.

"Yeah. Yeah." Two Bit called.

Maggie scoffed and cursed under her breath at them as she pulled out the eggs and all but slammed them on the counter.

It was going to be a long day.

"Darry! Where's your old leather jacket?" Maggie yelled as she stuck her head out of Darry's closet. She couldn't remember the last place she had seen that stupid thing and now that she was looking for it, it had disappeared.

_Why_, she thought dramatically.

"Who cares? It's not like you have to look good for a rumble." Steve snapped as he walked past the door.

"No, you're right. I have to look tuff." she back at him hotly. She huffed and turned back to the closet throwing clothes this way and that as she looked for it.

She had exactly 10 minutes to get ready and despite Darry and Pony's protesting she had refused to get ready before then. It had been such a long day and she thought the last 10 minutes would drag on forever, but now that they were there they were going by like a snap of a finger.

"I found you, you little devil!" she snapped as she yanked the old leather jacket out of an old tattered box. She slowly pushed herself off her knees and shook the jacket out, coughing when dust flew everywhere. She pulled it on hastily and then rushed out of the room.

A few seconds later though she ran back, snapped off the light and then ran to the bathroom, barging in on whoever was in it.

"Sorry." she told Dallas, reaching around him to grab a brush and a hair tie. He looked at her like she was crazy but she ignored it and instead pulled her hair into a tight, sloppy ponytail.

"Good enough." she muttered.

"Hey, you guys. I think we should prey before we go." Pony said, sounding a bit nervous as he told them.

"Oh come on, Pony." Steve said; his voice filled with amusement and annoyance. "You can't honestly tell me you believe in all that faith shit."

"Steve." Maggie said, trying to hide her smile. "You're not supposed to use 'faith' and 'shit' in the same sentence." she told him.

"Too late." he replied with a smirk.

"You'll go to hell." Maggie said in a mock sing song voice.

"Shoot." Two Bit said from over by the corner where he sat chugging a beer before the rumble. "The day Steve Randle goes to heaven is the day I got to hell." he told him before howling with laughter.

"Congrats, Steve," Maggie started, turning back to the guy on her right, "you're going to heaven."

"Hey!" Two Bit hollered, feigning hurt.

"Hey!" Darry warned as he tried to stop smiling. "Let's take this seriously. If Pony wants to prey, we can prey."

"Nah, its alright. Ya'll have done everything possible to make fun of me." Pony snapped with the shake of his head and a glare.

"Oh, come on, Pony." Soda said, laying his extra large eyes on Pony. Maggie knew Soda was giving him the puppy dog look and Maggie thanked god she wasn't on the receiving end of it. No one could get away from Soda's puppy dog look, not even Darry.

"Ok." Pony finally agreed, finally breaking down and bowing his head. Maggie followed his lead a few seconds later and everyone else started to do the same. When Maggie looked up and noticed Steve didn't have his head bowed she elbowed him, hard, in the stomach. Some sort of sound escaped him and a second later his head was bowed even though he was cursing under his breath.

It was short and sweet. A simple 'God, protect us' type of prayer but Maggie didn't mind. A prayer was a prayer either way and at least all the guys had prayed too.

They were out the door 5 minutes later, Steve and Two Bit and Soda hollering and making a racket as they ran down the street. It was the typical ritual for a rumble but Maggie still didn't think that it felt right. Something was going to go wrong. She could feel it in her bones.

Lot was packed already when they finally got there and Maggie could make out a few familiar faces. One of which she had never seen at a rumble in all her Tulsa days.

Maggie pulled Angel into a tight hug, wondering what on earth Tim was thinking letting her come. She was the same age as Maggie, yeah, but she just wasn't strong like Maggie was. Not strong like any of the girls there. And even if she was it wouldn't matter. Tim would have usually had her locked in a room to keep her from going.

"What the hell are you doin' here, Angel?" a commanding, cold voice questioned. Maggie raised an eyebrow at Angel who had apparently come without Tim's permission at all.

"You're supposed to be in Texas!" he went on as he stalked up to the two girls and grabbed Angel roughly by the arm.

"Why can't I fight, Tim?" Angel shrieked at her older brother as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Maggie gets to fight!" she continued to protest.

"Maggie's not my responsibility!" Tim growled as his grip tightened even more.

"Bullshit she's not!" Angel squealed angrily before swinging a fist at Tim. "You're in love with her and you know it! It tares you apart to see her in this rumble!"

Tim's glare became even icier, if that was humanly possible and suddenly he was dragging Angel away, cursing under his breath.

Maggie just stood dumbstruck. Not sure whether to shake it off or to actually think it meant something. Her heart pounded in her chest but she couldn't tell if it was because of the recent developments with Tim or if it was because of the impending rumble that was about to go down in about 5 minutes.

It seemed to be going in slow motion, like an old western movie when one of the main characters was about to get shot. And Maggie knew that in some way it would end up with one of the main characters getting shot, or stabbed, or…something. She just didn't know who it was going to be and she was going to do everything in her power to stop it.

If she could.

She couldn't have things ended up the way they had last time. She wouldn't be able to handle it, not again.

She took in a short breath and turned towards Darry who was staring back at the rest of them with grim eyes and a sad smile.

They could hear the cars and the shouts of the socs as they made there way down the street, but they weren't fighting the socs, not this time. Maggie would have given anything if they were, because that would almost guarantee a fair rumble. It would also guarantee everyone getting out alive.

"Alright," Darry started, his eyes darting from one person to the next. "We need to focus. Anything going on in your life put it aside. Its rumble time." a few of the boys let out a holler or two and Maggie raised her eyebrow at them. She knew they were only trying to get pumped up for anything thrown there way, but it still felt a bit wrong. To be yelling and screaming when one of there friends might be dieing in 10 minutes.

It wasn't right, it wasn't morally right maybe, but it was all the greasers had ever known, and they were going to stick to what they knew.

Maggie let out a breath as more yells filled the lot. This time, she knew it was that stupid new gang. She couldn't believe she was here. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Denial. That's what it was. She realized it now. She _was _standing there and it _was _happening. She didn't have enough time to deny it.

"You ready?" Maggie turned around, coming face to face with Tim again. She furrowed an eyebrow and confusion as she looked around the lot, trying to find Angel.

"Where's Angel?" she questioned, finally locking eyes with Tim.

"Where do you think?" he answered with a slight smirk. "I sent her home. She can't be here. I won't let her be."

Maggie nodded slowly in understanding and her face slowly started to darken as she remembered Angel's earlier words about Tim. She could feel a blush starting to creep its way up into her cheeks and she looked away hurriedly.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked. His voice was low and raspy and the expression on his face said he meant business. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out he wanted to talk about what Angel said, too.

Maggie followed towards the road where he stopped and turned towards her. His eyes were glinting from the fire in the lot and for a second he almost looked sad.

"About what Angel said…" he trailed off and his hand went to rub the back of his neck. Maggie didn't know whether to tell him it didn't matter or to stand there until he got it out.

Her breath hitched in her throat though, with anticipation and she couldn't help her heart from speeding up. Her body, her heart, was telling her she wanted him to say it but her mind was telling her she didn't. She couldn't handle it, especially before a rumble, but what did that matter? As long as she heard the words. Right?

He let out a sigh, just a sigh. He didn't under a word, just sighed.

Maggie's heart fell and she thought she might pass out from rejection.

_Why did I even get my hopes up_, she wondered as she nodded in Tim's direction and started back over to the lot. It was stupid of her to think he was actually going to say _those _words to her. It was Tim Shepard after all. He was just like Dallas, incapable of loving or feeling any emotion besides pain. Tim Shepard was a typical hood, and Maggie was stupid for thinking otherwise.

Her breath hitched for about the millionth time that night as she was pulled back and the next thing she knew Tim's lips were crashing down on hers hungrily and his arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

She moaned into his mouth and leaned even harder against him, accepting his kiss and returning it with full force. This was better then those words…so much better.


	25. Last ChappyEver

**Disclaimer: I don't own Steve. But I do own Maggie. And I don't own the lyrics Over My Head by The Fray, either.**

_I never knew _

_I never knew that everything was falling through _

_That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue _

"I'm leaving." her voice was firm but quiet and inside, she was doubting her decision. She had to fight to keep her bottom lip from quivering and her hands from shaking. She had made up her mind...

"What?" Steve questioned, eyeing the bag over her shoulder and the hat on her head. His old DX cap...

**Her breaths came in ragged gasps as she put her body weight into another punch, hoping the stupid bastard didn't dodge it again. The fight was still going strong despite having been going on for at least 2 hours and it seemed like every time one of them dropped another one just came and took his place. They were multiplying like flies and her energy was leaving her quickly, just like it was the rest of them.**

**She groaned and grabbed her stomach as an elbow connected with it and leaned forward, ready to empty her stomach's contents on the ground and all over herself. Nothing came up though and she didn't know whether to be thankful or to curse all living things.**

**She could feel her hand shaking as she dealt yet another punch. Things weren't looking good for the greasers and socs and she doubted if they would start to look better…**

_To turn and run when all I needed was the truth _

"I'm leaving." she said again with a firm nod of her head. "You don't understand, Steve. All I ever do is mess things up. I screw everything up! I can't do this anymore. I don't want to keep screwing up. You're going to go on, Steve. You're going to finish high school and then you're going to save up your money, move out of your dad's house, and then you're gonna meet a girl. You're gonna get married and have kids, Steve. You're worth something. You have an education. You know how to fix cars. You have something going for you. I'm worthless. I have school up until, what, the 7th grade? I always screw everything up and no one's going to hire me. I don't deserve to stay here, mooching off of you guys. Besides, everyone I know ends up getting hurt in some way. I don't want that to happen to you, too."

_But that's how it's got to be _

_It's coming down to nothing more than apathy _

**She took in a deep breath. Her heart pounding in her ears from oxygen need and fear. Her eyes were steadily letting tears stream down her cheeks but she didn't bother to wipe them away. There was no use. More were going to take their place anyway. She was hurting everywhere and just when she thought she might get a few seconds break another one came at her. It was impossible to beat them and she didn't know why they were still trying, but for some reason they were.**

**And people were just getting hurt for it.**

**Her head spun as she took another blow to her cheek and she knew she had to be bloodied all over. She wanted to let herself collapse to the ground but she didn't, and she wasn't sure what was helping her keep going.**

**Her heart almost flooded with relief as she saw Tim. He was the first familiar person she had seen since the fight started and she was glad to know he was still there with her. She made her way towards him, picking off as many as she could but all the while taking punches herself. Tim looked like a machine, punching one after the other and taking on 3 or 4 guys at a time. It was definitely guys like Tim that won rumbles for the greasers and Maggie was thankful he was on their side.**

**A sharp pain shot up her back when she was only a few feet away from Tim and she fell to her knees against her will. Her hand went to hold her screaming back and her eyes all but rolled into the back of her head. The pain was getting to be too much and she wondered how long it would be before she passed out.**

**"Get up!" she heard Tim yell at her. She tried to get up, like he said, but she was only knocked down again. She landed flat on her stomach and a few seconds later she was flipped onto her back. A guy was standing over her. He was missing a lot his teeth, had more scars then Tim, and he smelled disgusting. A swift kick to the balls was all it took to bring him down and after a lot of struggling Maggie managed to get back to her feet. She made her way towards Tim again and put her back to his back, hoping they could make some sort of system out of it.**

**A kind of 'you watch my back, I'll watch yours' thing. So far it was working.**

**Deep down though, Maggie knew it wouldn't hold for long. They were just going to keep coming. There were too many of them and too few greasers and socs. She ducked as a punch flew towards her and gave a hard kick to the guy's shine. He gasped in pain but determination was in his eyes. It was not going to be easy to take him down. Maggie groaned as she threw a punch at his stomach, only to receive one in the face in return. She wanted to stop and scream out in pain and yell about how much it hurt, but she pushed on. **

_I'd rather run the other way than stay and see _

_The smoke and who's still standing when it clears and_

"**Tim," she yelled, not bothering to turn around. "There's too many." she fought for a few minutes and when she didn't get a reply she turned. It took a few minutes before she found Tim in the crowd and when she did see him, she wished she hadn't. He was fighting against a guy with a long pocket knife in his hand. Whoever it was knew how to use it and was taking strategic swings at Tim every once in a while but still saving his energy. She fought her way towards a better spot so she could watch the scene play out and she couldn't decide if it was going to go bad or good. She watched with interest as they dodged each other, over and over again, neither one of them taking an advantage over the other. She knew it could go on forever and was contemplating whether or not to jump in when her decision was made for her.**

_Everyone knows I'm in _

_Over my head _

_Over my head_

_With eight seconds left in overtime _

_She's on your mind _

_She's on your mind_

**A random guy was pushed back into Tim, sending Tim lurching forward giving the other guy a perfect opportunity to plunge his knife into Tim's stomach. Maggie watched in horror as the guy twisted the knife cruelly. She cried out again as a chill ran down her spine. Her speed increased and she knocked down anyone in her path.**

**She needed to be there.**

**Her heart pounded as she skidded to a halt just in time to catch Tim as he started to fall.**

"**You're okay." she told him, nodding her head repeatedly. "You're okay." she went on. She knew she was only trying to convince herself and from the look on Tim's face he knew it too.**

"**No, I'm not." he rasped out as she gently lowered him to the ground.**

_Let's rearrange _

_I wish you were a stranger I could disengage _

_Just say that we agree and then never change _

_Soften a bit until we all just get along _

_But that's disregard _

_You find another friend and you discard _

_As you lose the argument in a cable car _

_Hanging above as the canyon comes between and_

"**Oh, shit." Maggie said as she clutched onto his back tightly, pulling him closer to her. His hands were covering his stomach, the place he had been stabbed and blood was seeping out. It was like the other rumble all over again and Maggie didn't know how she could stand it if she lost Tim.**

**Don't think about it, she urged herself. Tears welled in her eyes and she let them fall, knowing there was no way to stop them. **

**Her heart plunged as she slowly watched Tim's face go pale.**

_Everyone knows I'm in _

_Over my head _

_Over my head _

_With eight seconds left in overtime _

_She's on your mind _

_She's on your mind_

"You're not worthless. I can teach you, Mags. You can learn. You can go back to school." Steve trailed off, longing and hope in his eyes. "And Tim dieing was not your fault. He died protecting his sister and all the rest of the greasers out there. Not just you."

Maggie shook her head at him.

"It was my fault and you know it!" Maggie all but screamed. "I can't stick around here anyway. Everywhere I go I'll be reminded of Tim. My first really real kiss and my first love. The first guy that put butterflies in my stomach and helped me out of all the sticky situations I managed to get myself into. It _was_ my fault, Steve. It was."

"You have your whole life ahead of you." he snapped harshly, cutting her off. "You can't just give up now. You're only 17 for fucks sake. You can't spend your whole life remembering him. You have to go on and forget. You have to put the past behind you."

"Well, I can't very well do that if I stay here!" she snapped back at him, taking a step towards him angrily.

_Everyone knows I'm in _

_Over my head _

_Over my head _

_With eight seconds left in overtime _

_She's on your mind _

_She's on_

"You can't run from this, Maggie!" Steve screamed, slamming his fist into the table. Maggie jumped and wrapped her arms around herself, thinking.

"I can and I will." she said finally, her voice soft and her eyes full of tears. "You can watch me."

"All we've ever seen is your back. You leave now you can't come back!" he yelled, venom in his eyes and his voice.

"That's how it's going to be?" she asked, a tear spilling over her check and landing on the floor.

_And suddenly I become a part of your past _

_I'm becoming the part that don't last _

_I'm losing you and its effortless _

_Without a sound we lose sight of the ground _

_In the throw around _

_Never thought that you wanted to bring it down _

_I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves_

"That's how it's going to be." he said, finality in his voice. Maggie nodded slowly.

So be it, she thought. She uncrossed her arms and moved towards the door.

"Get a nice view of my back, your not going to see it again." she told him quietly before walking out the door.

_Everyone knows I'm in _

_Over my head _

_Over my head _

_With eight seconds left in overtime _

_She's on your mind _

_She's on your mind _

_Everyone knows _

_She's on your mind _

_Everyone knows I'm in _

_Over my head _

_I'm in over my head _

_I'm over my _

_Everyone knows I'm in _

_Over my head _

_Over my head _

_With eight seconds left in overtime _

_She's on your mind _

_She's on your mind_

**Author's Note: So I guess everyone just lost interest in this or something? I don't know. I do know, thought, that I got discouraged. No one was reviewing anymore and I felt like the story was going down hill. I also felt that you guys felt it was dragging on. So...I ended it. This is the last chapter you will see for this story and it's also the last you'll see of Maggie. Their won't be any more of these. I'm sure you guys are sick of her anyway. I tied up most of the loose ends except for what Dallas did when she left. I'm sure you guys can piece that together. Thanks for your reviews and most of your support. Wish it could have ended better. Sorry guys. :(**


End file.
